The Magnificent Ambersons

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THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS

伟大的安伯森家族

By Booth Tarkington

布斯·塔金顿

CONTENTS

内容

Chapter I

第一章

Chapter II

第二章

Chapter III

第三章

Chapter IV

第四章

Chapter V

第五章

Chapter VI

第六章

Chapter VII

第七章

Chapter VIII

第八章

Chapter IX

第九章

Chapter X

第十章

Chapter XI

第十一章

Chapter XII

第十二章

Chapter XIII

第十三章

Chapter XIV

第十四章

Chapter XV

第十五章

Chapter XVI

第十六章

Chapter XVII

第十七章

Chapter XVIII

第十八章

Chapter XIX

第十九章

Chapter XX

第二十章

Chapter XXI

第二十一章

Chapter XXII

第二十二章

Chapter XXIII

第二十三章

Chapter XXIV

第二十四章

Chapter XXV

第二十五章

Chapter XXVI

第二十六章

Chapter XXVII

第二十七章

Chapter XXVIII

第二十八章

Chapter XXIX

第二十九章

Chapter XXX

第三十章

Chapter XXXI

第三十一章

Chapter XXXII

第三十二章

Chapter XXXIII

第三十三章

Chapter XXXIV

第三十四章

Chapter XXXV

第三十五章

Chapter I

第一章

Major Amberson had “made a fortune” in 1873, when other people were losing fortunes, and the magnificence of the Ambersons began then.

1873年，当其他人都在赔钱时，安伯森少校“发了财”，安伯森家族的辉煌由此开始。

Magnificence, like the size of a fortune, is always comparative, as even Magnificent Lorenzo may now perceive, if he has happened to haunt New York in 1916; and the Ambersons were magnificent in their day and place.

华丽，就像财富的大小一样，总是具有比较性的，即使是伟大的洛伦佐现在也可能会意识到，如果他碰巧在 1916 年经常出没于纽约的话；安伯森家族在他们的时代和地方都是伟大的。

Their splendour lasted throughout all the years that saw their Midland town spread and darken into a city, but reached its topmost during the period when every prosperous family with children kept a Newfoundland dog.

他们的辉煌持续了他们的米德兰小镇扩张并变成一座城市的所有岁月，但在每个有孩子的富裕家庭都养一只纽芬兰狗的时期达到了顶峰。

In that town, in those days, all the women who wore silk or velvet knew all the other women who wore silk or velvet, and when there was a new purchase of sealskin, sick people were got to windows to see it go by.

那个时候，在那个镇上，所有穿丝绸或天鹅绒的女人都认识所有其他穿丝绸或天鹅绒的女人，当新购买的海豹皮时，病人就会被带到窗口看它过去。

Trotters were out, in the winter afternoons, racing light sleighs on National Avenue and Tennessee Street; everybody recognized both the trotters and the drivers; and again knew them as well on summer evenings, when slim buggies whizzed by in renewals of the snow-time rivalry.

冬天的下午，人们会在国家大道和田纳西街上驾驶轻型雪橇比赛。每个人都认出了小跑者和车夫。夏天的夜晚，当细长的越野车呼啸而过，雪上的竞争重新开始时，我们也再次认识了他们。

For that matter, everybody knew everybody else’s family horse-and-carriage, could identify such a silhouette half a mile down the street, and thereby was sure who was going to market, or to a reception, or coming home from office or store to noon dinner or evening supper.

就此而言，每个人都知道其他人的家庭马车，可以在半英里的街道上识别出这样的轮廓，从而确定谁要去市场，或者去参加招待会，或者从办公室或商店回家去吃中午的晚餐或晚上的晚餐。

During the earlier years of this period, elegance of personal appearance was believed to rest more upon the texture of garments than upon their shaping.

在这一时期的早期，人们认为个人外表的优雅更多地取决于服装的质地而不是其造型。

A silk dress needed no remodelling when it was a year or so old; it remained distinguished by merely remaining silk.

丝绸连衣裙用了一年左右就不需要改造；它的独特之处在于仅剩下丝绸。

Old men and governors wore broadcloth; “full dress” was broadcloth with “doeskin” trousers; and there were seen men of all ages to whom a hat meant only that rigid, tall silk thing known to impudence as a “stove-pipe.” In town and country these men would wear no other hat, and, without self-consciousness, they went rowing in such hats.

老人和州长都穿着绒布衣服； “礼服”是宽呢绒布，搭配“鹿皮”裤子；对各个年龄段的男人来说，帽子仅仅意味着那种僵硬的、高大的丝质东西，被厚颜无耻地称为“烟斗”。在城镇和乡村，这些人不会戴其他帽子，而且，他们毫无自觉地戴着这样的帽子去划船。

Shifting fashions of shape replaced aristocracy of texture: dressmakers, shoemakers, hatmakers, and tailors, increasing in cunning and in power, found means to make new clothes old.

造型的时尚潮流取代了质感的贵族：裁缝、鞋匠、制帽师和裁缝，他们的狡猾和权力日益增强，找到了使新衣服变旧的方法。

The long contagion of the “Derby” hat arrived: one season the crown of this hat would be a bucket; the next it would be a spoon.

“德比”帽子的长期传染到来了：有一个赛季，这顶帽子的帽顶会是一个水桶；有一个赛季，这顶帽子的顶冠会是一个水桶；在某个赛季，这顶帽子的顶冠会变成一个水桶；接下来是一把勺子。

Every house still kept its bootjack, but high-topped boots gave way to shoes and “congress gaiters”; and these were played through fashions that shaped them now with toes like box-ends and now with toes like the prows of racing shells.

每个房子仍然保留着靴子，但高帮靴子被鞋子和“国会绑腿”所取代。这些都是通过时尚来演奏的，这些时尚使它们的脚趾有时像箱形末端，有时又像赛车贝壳的船头。

Trousers with a crease were considered plebeian; the crease proved that the garment had lain upon a shelf, and hence was “ready-made”; these betraying trousers were called “hand-me-downs,” in allusion to the shelf.

有折痕的裤子被认为是平民的；折痕证明这件衣服放在架子上，因此是“现成的”；这些背叛的裤子被称为“旧货”，暗指货架。

In the early ’eighties, while bangs and bustles were having their way with women, that variation of dandy known as the “dude” was invented: he wore trousers as tight as stockings, dagger-pointed shoes, a spoon “Derby,” a single-breasted coat called a “Chesterfield,” with short flaring skirts, a torturing cylindrical collar, laundered to a polish and three inches high, while his other neckgear might be a heavy, puffed cravat or a tiny bow fit for a doll’s braids.

八十年代初，当刘海和裙边盛行女性时，被称为“花花公子”的花花公子的变种被发明了：他穿着像丝袜一样紧的裤子，尖头鞋，戴着勺子“德比”，一件称为“切斯特菲尔德”的单排扣外套，短裙，一个折磨人的圆柱形领子，洗得很光亮，高三英寸，而他的其他颈饰可能可以是厚重的、蓬松的领巾，也可以是适合洋娃娃辫子的小蝴蝶结。

With evening dress he wore a tan overcoat so short that his black coat-tails hung visible, five inches below the over-coat; but after a season or two he lengthened his overcoat till it touched his heels, and he passed out of his tight trousers into trousers like great bags.

穿着晚礼服时，他穿了一件棕褐色大衣，外套太短了，黑色的燕尾服垂在外面，比大衣低五英寸。但一两个赛季后，他把大衣加长，直到触及脚后跟，然后脱下紧身裤，换上像大袋子一样的长裤。

Then, presently, he was seen no more, though the word that had been coined for him remained in the vocabularies of the impertinent.

然后，不久，他就再也没有出现过，尽管为他创造的这个词仍然存在于无礼之人的词汇中。

It was a hairier day than this.

这是比这更毛茸茸的一天。

Beards were to the wearers’ fancy, and things as strange as the Kaiserliche boar-tusk moustache were commonplace.

胡须是佩戴者所喜爱的，像皇帝野猪牙胡子这样奇怪的东西是司空见惯的。

“Side-burns” found nourishment upon childlike profiles; great Dundreary whiskers blew like tippets over young shoulders; moustaches were trained as lambrequins over forgotten mouths; and it was possible for a Senator of the United States to wear a mist of white whisker upon his throat only, not a newspaper in the land finding the ornament distinguished enough to warrant a lampoon.

“鬓角”在孩子般的轮廓上找到了滋养；邓德里里的大胡须像披肩一样飘扬在年轻的肩膀上。胡须被训练成小羊羔，遮住被遗忘的嘴巴；美国参议员有可能只在脖子上戴上一层白色的胡须，而国内的报纸却没有发现这种装饰品足够显眼，值得讽刺。

Surely no more is needed to prove that so short a time ago we were living in another age!

当然，不需要更多的证据来证明不久前我们还生活在另一个时代！

At the beginning of the Ambersons’ great period most of the houses of the Midland town were of a pleasant architecture.

在安伯森家族伟大时期的初期，米德兰镇的大部分房屋都具有令人愉悦的建筑风格。

They lacked style, but also lacked pretentiousness, and whatever does not pretend at all has style enough.

没有风格，也没有造作，不造作就足够有风格了。

They stood in commodious yards, well shaded by leftover forest trees, elm and walnut and beech, with here and there a line of tall sycamores where the land had been made by filling bayous from the creek.

他们站在宽敞的院子里，周围有废弃的森林树木、榆树、胡桃木和山毛榉，遮荫处，到处都是一排高大的梧桐树，那里的土地是用小溪填平河口而形成的。

The house of a “prominent resident,” facing Military Square, or National Avenue, or Tennessee Street, was built of brick upon a stone foundation, or of wood upon a brick foundation.

面向军事广场、国家大道或田纳西街的“显赫居民”的房子是在石头基础上用砖建造的，或者是在砖基础上用木头建造的。

Usually it had a “front porch” and a “back porch”; often a “side porch,” too.

通常它有一个“前廊”和一个“后廊”；通常也是“侧门廊”。

There was a “front hall”; there was a “side hall”; and sometimes a “back hall.” From the “front hall” opened three rooms, the “parlour,” the “sitting room,” and the “library”; and the library could show warrant to its title—for some reason these people bought books.

有一个“前厅”；有一个“侧厅”；有时还有“后厅”。从“前厅”向外开出“客厅”、“客厅”、“书房”三间；图书馆可以证明其名称的正当性——出于某种原因，这些人买了书。

Commonly, the family sat more in the library than in the “sitting room,” while callers, when they came formally, were kept to the “parlour,” a place of formidable polish and discomfort.

通常，一家人更多地坐在图书馆而不是“客厅”，而正式来访的人则被留在“客厅”，这是一个令人敬畏的优雅和不舒服的地方。

The upholstery of the library furniture was a little shabby; but the hostile chairs and sofa of the “parlour” always looked new.

图书馆家具的装饰有点破旧；但“客厅”里充满敌意的椅子和沙发看起来总是新的。

For all the wear and tear they got they should have lasted a thousand years.

尽管它们受到了如此多的磨损，它们应该可以持续一千年。

Upstairs were the bedrooms; “mother-and-father’s room” the largest; a smaller room for one or two sons, another for one or two daughters; each of these rooms containing a double bed, a “washstand,” a “bureau,” a wardrobe, a little table, a rocking-chair, and often a chair or two that had been slightly damaged downstairs, but not enough to justify either the expense of repair or decisive abandonment in the attic.

楼上是卧室。 “父母的房间”最大；一间较小的房间适合一两个儿子，另一间适合一两个女儿；每个房间都有一张双人床、一个“盥洗台”、一个“衣柜”、一个衣柜、一张小桌子、一把摇椅，通常还有一两把在楼下受到轻微损坏的椅子，但不足以证明修理费用或果断放弃阁楼是合理的。

And there was always a “spare-room,” for visitors (where the sewing-machine usually was kept), and during the ‘seventies there developed an appreciation of the necessity for a bathroom.

而且总是有一个“备用房间”供游客使用（缝纫机通常存放在那里），并且在七十年代，人们开始认识到浴室的必要性。

Therefore the architects placed bathrooms in the new houses, and the older houses tore out a cupboard or two, set up a boiler beside the kitchen stove, and sought a new godliness, each with its own bathroom.

因此，建筑师们在新房子里设置了浴室，而旧房子则拆掉一两个橱柜，在厨房炉灶旁边设置了一个锅炉，并寻求新的虔诚，每个房间都有自己的浴室。

The great American plumber joke, that many-branched evergreen, was planted at this time.

美国水管工的一个伟大笑话——多分枝常青树——就是在这个时候种下的。

At the rear of the house, upstairs was a bleak little chamber, called “the girl’s room,” and in the stable there was another bedroom, adjoining the hayloft, and called “the hired man’s room.” House and stable cost seven or eight thousand dollars to build, and people with that much money to invest in such comforts were classified as the Rich.

房子的后面，楼上有一个荒凉的小房间，称为“女孩的房间”，马厩里有另一间卧室，毗邻干草棚，称为“雇工的房间”。建造房屋和马厩要花费七八千美元，而有这么多钱投资于这些舒适设施的人被归类为富人。

They paid the inhabitant of “the girl’s room” two dollars a week, and, in the latter part of this period, two dollars and a half, and finally three dollars a week.

他们每周向“女孩房间”的住户支付两美元，在此期间的后期，每周支付两美元半，最后每周支付三美元。

She was Irish, ordinarily, or German or it might be Scandinavian, but never native to the land unless she happened to be a person of colour.

她通常是爱尔兰人，或者德国人，也可能是斯堪的纳维亚人，但从来不是这片土地上的本地人，除非她碰巧是有色人种。

The man or youth who lived in the stable had like wages, and sometimes he, too, was lately a steerage voyager, but much oftener he was coloured.

住在马厩里的男人或年轻人也有同样的工资，有时他最近也是一名统舱航海者，但更多时候他是有色人种。

After sunrise, on pleasant mornings, the alleys behind the stables were gay; laughter and shouting went up and down their dusty lengths, with a lively accompaniment of curry-combs knocking against back fences and stable walls, for the darkies loved to curry their horses in the alley.

日出后，在宜人的早晨，马厩后面的小巷热闹非凡。笑声和叫喊声在他们尘土飞扬的地方上上下下，伴随着咖喱梳敲击后栅栏和马厩墙壁的活泼伴奏，因为黑人喜欢在巷子里咖喱他们的马。

Darkies always prefer to gossip in shouts instead of whispers; and they feel that profanity, unless it be vociferous, is almost worthless.

黑人总是喜欢大喊大叫而不是低声闲聊。他们觉得脏话，除非是大声的，几乎毫无价值。

Horrible phrases were caught by early rising children and carried to older people for definition, sometimes at inopportune moments; while less investigative children would often merely repeat the phrases in some subsequent flurry of agitation, and yet bring about consequences so emphatic as to be recalled with ease in middle life.

早起的孩子会听到一些可怕的短语，然后带到老年人那里去解释，有时是在不合时宜的时刻；而不太善于探究的孩子往往只是在随后的一阵骚动中重复这些短语，但所带来的后果却如此明显，以至于在中年时很容易回忆起来。

They have passed, those darky hired-men of the Midland town; and the introspective horses they curried and brushed and whacked and amiably cursed—those good old horses switch their tails at flies no more.

他们已经过去了，那些米德兰镇的黑衣雇工；他们对那些内省的马进行咖喱、刷毛、敲击和友善的咒骂——那些善良的老马不再把尾巴转向苍蝇了。

For all their seeming permanence they might as well have been buffaloes—or the buffalo laprobes that grew bald in patches and used to slide from the careless drivers’ knees and hang unconcerned, half way to the ground.

尽管它们看起来很永恒，但它们也可能是水牛——或者是水牛身上的斑秃，它们常常从粗心的司机的膝盖上滑下来，毫不关心地挂在地上。

The stables have been transformed into other likenesses, or swept away, like the woodsheds where were kept the stove-wood and kindling that the “girl” and the “hired-man” always quarrelled over: who should fetch it.

马厩已被改造成其他样式，或者被冲走，就像存放炉柴和引火物的柴棚一样，“女孩”和“雇工”总是为谁应该去取而争论不休。

Horse and stable and woodshed, and the whole tribe of the “hired-man,” all are gone.

马匹、马厩、柴房，以及整个“雇工”部落，全都消失了。

They went quickly, yet so silently that we whom they served have not yet really noticed that they are vanished.

他们走得很快，但却悄无声息，以至于他们所服务的我们还没有真正注意到他们消失了。

So with other vanishings.

其他的消失也是如此。

There were the little bunty street-cars on the long, single track that went its troubled way among the cobblestones.

长长的单轨上有一些小兔子有轨电车，它们在鹅卵石之间艰难地行驶。

At the rear door of the car there was no platform, but a step where passengers clung in wet clumps when the weather was bad and the car crowded.

车厢后门没有站台，只有一个台阶，天气不好、车厢拥挤时，乘客就湿漉漉地挤在上面。

The patrons—if not too absent-minded—put their fares into a slot; and no conductor paced the heaving floor, but the driver would rap remindingly with his elbow upon the glass of the door to his little open platform if the nickels and the passengers did not appear to coincide in number.

顾客们——如果不是太心不在焉的话——把他们的钱放进一个投币口。没有售票员在起伏的地板上来回踱步，但如果镍币和乘客的数量不一致，司机就会用肘部敲击通往他的小开放平台的门玻璃，以示提醒。

A lone mule drew the car, and sometimes drew it off the track, when the passengers would get out and push it on again.

一头孤独的骡子拉着汽车，有时把它拖离轨道，这时乘客们就会下车再把它推上来。

They really owed it courtesies like this, for the car was genially accommodating: a lady could whistle to it from an upstairs window, and the car would halt at once and wait for her while she shut the window, put on her hat and cloak, went downstairs, found an umbrella, told the “girl” what to have for dinner, and came forth from the house.

他们真的欠它这样的礼遇，因为这辆车很友善：一位女士可以从楼上的窗户向它吹口哨，车会立即停下来等待她，而她关上窗户，戴上帽子和斗篷，下楼，找到一把雨伞，告诉“女孩”晚餐吃什么，然后从房子里出来。

The previous passengers made little objection to such gallantry on the part of the car: they were wont to expect as much for themselves on like occasion.

前面的乘客对汽车的这种殷勤行为并没有什么异议：他们习惯于在类似的场合对自己有如此高的期望。

In good weather the mule pulled the car a mile in a little less than twenty minutes, unless the stops were too long; but when the trolley-car came, doing its mile in five minutes and better, it would wait for nobody.

天气好的时候，除非停靠时间太长，骡子在不到二十分钟的时间内就能把车拉一英里。但当无轨电车来时，五分钟或更短时间就能跑完一英里，它不会等待任何人。

Nor could its passengers have endured such a thing, because the faster they were carried the less time they had to spare!

它的乘客也无法忍受这样的事情，因为他们被运送得越快，他们能腾出的时间就越少！

In the days before deathly contrivances hustled them through their lives, and when they had no telephones—another ancient vacancy profoundly responsible for leisure—they had time for everything: time to think, to talk, time to read, time to wait for a lady!

在致命的诡计催促他们度过一生之前的日子里，当他们没有电话时——这是另一个与休闲密切相关的古老空缺——他们有时间做一切事情：有时间思考、有时间说话、有时间读书、有时间等待女士！

They even had time to dance “square dances,” quadrilles, and “lancers”; they also danced the “racquette,” and schottisches and polkas, and such whims as the “Portland Fancy.” They pushed back the sliding doors between the “parlour” and the “sitting room,” tacked down crash over the carpets, hired a few palms in green tubs, stationed three or four Italian musicians under the stairway in the “front hall”—and had great nights!

他们甚至还有时间跳“广场舞”、方阵舞和“枪骑兵”；他们还跳“球拍”、苏格兰舞和波尔卡舞，以及诸如“波特兰幻想”之类的奇思妙想。他们推开了“客厅”和“客厅”之间的滑动门，把地毯固定住，在绿色的盆里租了几棵棕榈树，在“前厅”的楼梯下驻扎了三四个意大利音乐家——度过了美好的夜晚！

But these people were gayest on New Year’s Day; they made it a true festival—something no longer known.

但这些人在元旦这一天最为热闹。他们把它变成了一个真正的节日——一些不再为人所知的东西。

The women gathered to “assist” the hostesses who kept “Open House”; and the carefree men, dandified and perfumed, went about in sleighs, or in carriages and ponderous “hacks,” going from Open House to Open House, leaving fantastic cards in fancy baskets as they entered each doorway, and emerging a little later, more carefree than ever, if the punch had been to their liking.

妇女们聚集在一起“协助”举办“开放日”的女主人；那些无忧无虑的男人们，打扮得花枝招展，散发着香水味，坐着雪橇、马车和笨重的“小屋”，从一个开放日到另一个开放日，当他们进入每个门口时，都会在精美的篮子里留下精美的卡片，然后稍后出现，比以往任何时候都更加无忧无虑，如果打孔符合他们的喜好的话。

It always was, and, as the afternoon wore on, pedestrians saw great gesturing and waving of skin-tight lemon gloves, while ruinous fragments of song were dropped behind as the carriages rolled up and down the streets.

一直如此，随着下午的流逝，行人看到了巨大的手势和挥舞着紧身柠檬手套的声音，而当马车在街道上来来往往时，毁灭性的歌曲片段被抛在身后。

“Keeping Open House” was a merry custom; it has gone, like the all-day picnic in the woods, and like that prettiest of all vanished customs, the serenade.

“保持开放”是一种令人愉快的习俗。它已经消失了，就像在树林里整天野餐一样，就像所有消失的习俗中最美丽的小夜曲一样。

When a lively girl visited the town she did not long go unserenaded, though a visitor was not indeed needed to excuse a serenade.

当一个活泼的女孩来到这个小镇时，她很快就会唱起小夜曲，尽管确实不需要访客来原谅小夜曲。

Of a summer night, young men would bring an orchestra under a pretty girl’s window—or, it might be, her father’s, or that of an ailing maiden aunt—and flute, harp, fiddle, cello, cornet, and bass viol would presently release to the dulcet stars such melodies as sing through “You’ll Remember Me,” “I Dreamt That I Dwelt in Marble Halls,” “Silver Threads Among the Gold,” “Kathleen Mavourneen,” or “The Soldier’s Farewell.”

夏日的夜晚，年轻人会把一支管弦乐队带到一个漂亮女孩的窗下——或者，可能是她父亲的，或者生病的姑妈的——长笛、竖琴、小提琴、大提琴、短号和低音提琴很快就会向优美的明星们释放出诸如《你会记得我》、《我梦见我住在大理石大厅》、《金线中的银线》、《金线》中的旋律。 “凯瑟琳·马沃尼恩”或“士兵的告别”。

They had other music to offer, too, for these were the happy days of “Olivette” and “The Macotte” and “The Chimes of Normandy” and “Girofle-Girofla” and “Fra Diavola.” Better than that, these were the days of “Pinafore” and “The Pirates of Penzance” and of “Patience.” This last was needed in the Midland town, as elsewhere, for the “aesthetic movement” had reached thus far from London, and terrible things were being done to honest old furniture.

他们还提供了其他音乐，因为这些是《奥利维特》、《马科特》、《诺曼底的钟声》、《Girofle-Girofla》和《Fra Diavola》的快乐时光。比这更好的是，现在是《Pinafore》、《彭赞斯的海盗》和《耐心》的时代。与其他地方一样，米德兰镇也需要最后一点，因为“美学运动”已经从伦敦蔓延到了很远的地方，而诚实的旧家具正在遭受可怕的破坏。

Maidens sawed what-nots in two, and gilded the remains.

少女们把不该有的东西锯成两半，然后给剩下的部分镀金。

They took the rockers from rocking-chairs and gilded the inadequate legs; they gilded the easels that supported the crayon portraits of their deceased uncles.

他们把摇椅上的摇椅拆下来，给不完善的腿镀上镀金。他们给已故叔叔的蜡笔肖像画架镀金。

In the new spirit of art they sold old clocks for new, and threw wax flowers and wax fruit, and the protecting glass domes, out upon the trash-heap.

本着新的艺术精神，他们将旧钟换成新钟，并将蜡花、蜡果和保护玻璃圆顶扔进垃圾堆。

They filled vases with peacock feathers, or cattails, or sumac, or sunflowers, and set the vases upon mantelpieces and marble-topped tables.

他们在花瓶里装满孔雀羽毛、香蒲、漆树或向日葵，然后将花瓶放在壁炉架和大理石桌面的桌子上。

They embroidered daisies (which they called “marguerites”) and sunflowers and sumac and cat-tails and owls and peacock feathers upon plush screens and upon heavy cushions, then strewed these cushions upon floors where fathers fell over them in the dark.

他们在毛绒屏风和厚重的垫子上绣上雏菊（他们称之为“玛格丽特”）、向日葵、漆树、香蒲、猫头鹰和孔雀羽毛，然后将这些垫子铺在地板上，父亲们在黑暗中倒在上面。

In the teeth of sinful oratory, the daughters went on embroidering: they embroidered daisies and sunflowers and sumac and cat-tails and owls and peacock feathers upon “throws” which they had the courage to drape upon horsehair sofas; they painted owls and daisies and sunflowers and sumac and cat-tails and peacock feathers upon tambourines.

女儿们在罪恶的演讲中继续刺绣：她们把雏菊、向日葵、漆树、猫尾草、猫头鹰和孔雀羽毛绣在“毯子”上，她们有勇气把这些“毯子”挂在马毛沙发上；她们在“毯子”上绣上雏菊、向日葵、漆树、猫头鹰和孔雀羽毛。他们在手鼓上画猫头鹰、雏菊、向日葵、漆树、猫尾草和孔雀羽毛。

They hung Chinese umbrellas of paper to the chandeliers; they nailed paper fans to the walls.

他们把中国纸伞挂在枝形吊灯上。他们把纸扇钉在墙上。

They “studied” painting on china, these girls; they sang Tosti’s new songs; they sometimes still practiced the old, genteel habit of lady-fainting, and were most charming of all when they drove forth, three or four in a basket phaeton, on a spring morning.

这些女孩，她们在瓷器上“学习”绘画；他们唱了托斯蒂的新歌；他们有时仍然保持着让女士晕倒的古老而优雅的习惯，当他们在春天的早晨，三四个人坐在一辆篮子马车里出发时，最迷人。

Croquet and the mildest archery ever known were the sports of people still young and active enough for so much exertion; middle-age played euchre.

槌球和有史以来最温和的射箭运动是那些还年轻、精力充沛、能够进行如此大的努力的人的运动；中年演奏尤克雷。

There was a theatre, next door to the Amberson Hotel, and when Edwin Booth came for a night, everybody who could afford to buy a ticket was there, and all the “hacks” in town were hired.

安伯森酒店隔壁有一家剧院，当埃德温·布斯来过夜时，所有能买得起票的人都在那里，镇上所有的“黑客”都被雇佣了。

“The Black Crook” also filled the theatre, but the audience then was almost entirely of men who looked uneasy as they left for home when the final curtain fell upon the shocking girls dressed as fairies.

《黑骗子》也挤满了剧院，但观众几乎全是男人，当最后的帷幕落在那些装扮成仙女的令人震惊的女孩们身上时，他们在回家的路上显得很不安。

But the theatre did not often do so well; the people of the town were still too thrifty.

但剧院的表现并不总是那么好。镇上的人还是太节俭了。

They were thrifty because they were the sons or grandsons of the “early settlers,” who had opened the wilderness and had reached it from the East and the South with wagons and axes and guns, but with no money at all.

他们很节俭，因为他们是“早期定居者”的子孙，这些人开辟了荒野，从东方和南方带着马车、斧头和枪支来到这里，但根本没有钱。

The pioneers were thrifty or they would have perished: they had to store away food for the winter, or goods to trade for food, and they often feared they had not stored enough—they left traces of that fear in their sons and grandsons.

拓荒者很节俭，否则他们就会灭亡：他们必须储存过冬的食物，或者用来交换食物的物品，他们常常担心自己储存得不够——他们在子孙身上留下了这种恐惧的痕迹。

In the minds of most of these, indeed, their thrift was next to their religion: to save, even for the sake of saving, was their earliest lesson and discipline.

事实上，在大多数人的心目中，他们的节俭仅次于他们的宗教：储蓄，即使是为了储蓄，也是他们最早的教训和纪律。

No matter how prosperous they were, they could not spend money either upon “art,” or upon mere luxury and entertainment, without a sense of sin.

无论他们多么富裕，他们都不能把钱花在“艺术”上，或者仅仅花在奢侈和娱乐上，而没有罪恶感。

Against so homespun a background the magnificence of the Ambersons was as conspicuous as a brass band at a funeral.

在如此朴素的背景下，安伯森一家的辉煌就像葬礼上的铜管乐队一样引人注目。

Major Amberson bought two hundred acres of land at the end of National Avenue; and through this tract he built broad streets and cross-streets; paved them with cedar block, and curbed them with stone.

安伯森少校在国家大道尽头买了两百英亩土地；他在这片土地上修建了宽阔的街道和十字路口。用香柏木铺地，用石头围边。

He set up fountains, here and there, where the streets intersected, and at symmetrical intervals placed cast-iron statues, painted white, with their titles clear upon the pedestals: Minerva, Mercury, Hercules, Venus, Gladiator, Emperor Augustus, Fisher Boy, Stag-hound, Mastiff, Greyhound, Fawn, Antelope, Wounded Doe, and Wounded Lion.

他在街道交叉处各处设置了喷泉，并以对称的间隔放置了铸铁雕像，漆成白色，基座上清楚地标明了它们的标题：密涅瓦、水星、大力神、维纳斯、角斗士、奥古斯都皇帝、渔夫男孩、猎鹿犬、獒犬、灰狗、小鹿、羚羊、受伤的母鹿和受伤的狮子。

Most of the forest trees had been left to flourish still, and, at some distance, or by moonlight, the place was in truth beautiful; but the ardent citizen, loving to see his city grow, wanted neither distance nor moonlight.

大多数森林树木仍然茂盛，从远处看，或者在月光下，这个地方确实很美丽。但热心的公民喜欢看到自己的城市不断发展，既不需要距离，也不需要月光。

He had not seen Versailles, but, standing before the Fountain of Neptune in Amberson Addition, at bright noon, and quoting the favourite comparison of the local newspapers, he declared Versailles outdone.

他没有见过凡尔赛宫，但是，在明亮的正午，站在安伯森附加区的海王星喷泉前，引用当地报纸最喜欢的比较，他宣称凡尔赛宫不甘示弱。

All this Art showed a profit from the start, for the lots sold well and there was something like a rush to build in the new Addition.

所有这些艺术从一开始就显示出利润，因为这些拍品卖得很好，而且人们急于建造新的扩建项目。

Its main thoroughfare, an oblique continuation of National Avenue, was called Amberson Boulevard, and here, at the juncture of the new Boulevard and the Avenue, Major Amberson reserved four acres for himself, and built his new house—the Amberson Mansion, of course.

它的主干道是国家大道的倾斜延续，被称为安伯森大道，在这里，在新大道和大道的交汇处，安伯森少校为自己保留了四英亩土地，建造了他的新房子——当然是安伯森大厦。

This house was the pride of the town.

这所房子是镇上的骄傲。

Faced with stone as far back as the dining-room windows, it was a house of arches and turrets and girdling stone porches: it had the first porte-cochere seen in that town.

餐厅的窗户后面都是石头，这是一座由拱门、塔楼和环绕的石头门廊组成的房子：它拥有该镇第一个门廊。

There was a central “front hall” with a great black walnut stairway, and open to a green glass skylight called the “dome,” three stories above the ground floor.

有一个中央“前厅”，有一个巨大的黑胡桃木楼梯，通向一个被称为“圆顶”的绿色玻璃天窗，位于底层三层楼以上。

A ballroom occupied most of the third story; and at one end of it was a carved walnut gallery for the musicians.

舞厅占据了第三层的大部分空间。其一端是供音乐家使用的雕刻胡桃木画廊。

Citizens told strangers that the cost of all this black walnut and wood-carving was sixty thousand dollars.

市民告诉陌生人，所有这些黑胡桃木和木雕的成本是六万美元。

“Sixty thousand dollars for the wood-work _alone!_ Yes, sir, and hardwood floors all over the house!

“光是木制品就花了六万美元！_是的，先生，整个房子都是硬木地板！

Turkish rugs and no carpets at all, except a Brussels carpet in the front parlour—I hear they call it the ‘reception-room.’ Hot and cold water upstairs and down, and stationary washstands in every last bedroom in the place!

土耳其地毯，根本没有地毯，除了前厅的布鲁塞尔地毯——我听说他们称之为“接待室”。楼上楼下有热水和冷水，这个地方的每间卧室都有固定的盥洗台！

Their sideboard’s built right into the house and goes all the way across one end of the dining room.

他们的餐具柜就建在房子里，一直穿过餐厅的一端。

It isn’t walnut, it’s solid mahogany!

它不是胡桃木，而是实心桃花心木！

Not veneering—solid mahogany!

不是贴面——实心桃花心木！

Well, sir, I presume the President of the United States would be tickled to swap the White House for the new Amberson Mansion, if the Major’d give him the chance—but by the Almighty Dollar, you bet your sweet life the Major wouldn’t!”

好吧，先生，我想如果少校给美国总统机会的话，他一定会高兴地把白宫换成新的安伯森大厦——但以万能的美元起誓，你敢打赌，少校不会！”

The visitor to the town was certain to receive further enlightenment, for there was one form of entertainment never omitted: he was always patriotically taken for “a little drive around our city,” even if his host had to hire a hack, and the climax of the display was the Amberson Mansion.

来到小镇的游客肯定会得到进一步的启发，因为有一种娱乐形式永远不会被忽略：他总是被爱国地认为是“在我们的城市周围开车一小段”，即使他的主人不得不雇用一个黑客，而展示的高潮是安伯森大厦。

“Look at that greenhouse they’ve put up there in the side yard,” the escort would continue.

“看看他们在侧院搭建的温室，”护卫继续说道。

“And look at that brick stable!

“看看那个砖砌马厩！

Most folks would think that stable plenty big enough and good enough to live in; it’s got running water and four rooms upstairs for two hired men and one of ’em’s family to live in.

大多数人会认为马厩足够大、足够好，可以居住；它有自来水，楼上有四个房间，可供两名雇工和其中一名工人的家人居住。

They keep one hired man loafin’ in the house, and they got a married hired man out in the stable, and his wife does the washing.

他们让一个雇工在屋子里闲逛，又让一个已婚雇工在马厩里呆着，他的妻子负责洗衣服。

They got box-stalls for four horses, and they keep a coupay, and some new kinds of fancy rigs you never saw the beat of!

他们有四匹马的马厩，他们保留了现金，还有一些你从未见过的新型花哨装备！

‘Carts’ they call two of ’em—‘way up in the air they are—too high for me!

他们称其中的两个为“手推车”——“它们在空中——对我来说太高了！”

I guess they got every new kind of fancy rig in there that’s been invented.

我猜他们已经发明了各种新奇的装备。

And harness—well, everybody in town can tell when Ambersons are out driving after dark, by the jingle.

还有安全带——好吧，镇上的每个人都可以通过叮当声知道安伯森一家在天黑后开车出去。

This town never did see so much style as Ambersons are putting on, these days; and I guess it’s going to be expensive, because a lot of other folks’ll try to keep up with ’em.

如今，这个小镇从未像安伯森一家那样展现出如此多的风格。我想这会很昂贵，因为很多其他人会试图跟上他们的步伐。

The Major’s wife and the daughter’s been to Europe, and my wife tells me since they got back they make tea there every afternoon about five o’clock, and drink it.

少校的妻子和女儿去过欧洲，我妻子告诉我，自从他们回来后，他们每天下午五点左右就在那里泡茶，然后喝。

Seems to me it would go against a person’s stomach, just before supper like that, and anyway tea isn’t fit for much—not unless you’re sick or something.

在我看来，在晚饭前喝茶会不利于人的胃，而且无论如何，茶都不适合喝太多——除非你生病了或者有什么事情。

My wife says Ambersons don’t make lettuce salad the way other people do; they don’t chop it up with sugar and vinegar at all.

我妻子说 Ambersons 不像其他人那样做生菜沙拉；他们做的生菜沙拉很美味。他们根本不用糖和醋把它切碎。

They pour olive oil on it with their vinegar, and they have it separate—not along with the rest of the meal.

他们将橄榄油和醋一起倒在上面，然后将其单独食用，而不是与其他食物一起食用。

And they _eat_ these olives, too: green things they are, something like a hard plum, but a friend of mine told me they tasted a good deal like a bad hickory-nut.

他们也吃这些橄榄：它们是绿色的东西，有点像硬李子，但我的一个朋友告诉我，它们尝起来很像坏山核桃。

My wife says she’s going to buy some; you got to eat nine and then you get to like ’em, she says.

我妻子说她要去买一些；她说，你必须吃九个，然后你才会喜欢它们。

Well, I wouldn’t eat nine bad hickory-nuts to get to like _them_, and I’m going to let these olives alone.

好吧，我不会为了喜欢它们而吃九颗坏山核桃，而且我不会去管这些橄榄。

Kind of a woman’s dish, anyway, I suspect, but most everybody’ll be makin’ a stagger to worm through nine of ’em, now Ambersons brought ’em to town.

无论如何，我怀疑这是女人的菜，但大多数人都会摇摇晃晃地吃掉九个，现在安伯森把它们带到了城里。

Yes, sir, the rest’ll eat ’em, whether they get sick or not!

是的，先生，其余的人都会吃它们，无论他们是否生病！

Looks to me like some people in this city’d be willing to go crazy if they thought that would help ’em to be as high-toned as Ambersons.

在我看来，这个城市的一些人如果认为这能帮助他们像安伯森那样高调，他们会愿意发疯的。

Old Aleck Minafer—he’s about the closest old codger we got—he come in my office the other day, and he pretty near had a stroke tellin’ me about his daughter Fanny.

老阿莱克·米纳弗——他是我们身边最亲近的老家伙——有一天他来到我的办公室，告诉我他女儿范妮的事，他差点中风了。

Seems Miss Isabel Amberson’s got some kind of a dog—they call it a Saint Bernard—and Fanny was bound to have one, too.

伊莎贝尔·安伯森小姐似乎养了某种狗——他们称之为圣伯纳犬——范妮也一定有一只。

Well, old Aleck told her he didn’t like dogs except rat-terriers, because a rat-terrier cleans up the mice, but she kept on at him, and finally he said all right she could have one.

好吧，老阿莱克告诉她，除了捕鼠梗之外，他不喜欢狗，因为捕鼠梗会清理老鼠，但她一直对他说，最后他说好吧，她可以养一只。

Then, by George!

那么，乔治！

she says Ambersons _bought_ their dog, and you can’t get one without paying for it: they cost from fifty to a hundred dollars up!

她说安伯森买了他们的狗，不付钱就买不到一只：它们的价格从五十到一百美元不等！

Old Aleck wanted to know if I ever heard of anybody buyin’ a dog before, because, of course, even a Newfoundland or a setter you can usually get somebody to give you one.

老亚历克想知道我以前是否听说过有人买狗，因为当然，即使是纽芬兰犬或塞特犬，你通常也可以找人送一只。

He says he saw some sense in payin’ a nigger a dime, or even a quarter, to _drown_ a dog for you, but to pay out fifty dollars and maybe more—well, sir, he like to choked himself to death, right there in my office!

他说他认为付一毛钱，甚至四分之一的黑鬼，为你淹死一条狗是有道理的，但付五十美元，也许更多——好吧，先生，他喜欢在我的办公室里掐死自己！

Of course everybody realizes that Major Amberson is a fine business man, but what with throwin’ money around for dogs, and every which and what, some think all this style’s bound to break him up, if his family don’t quit!”

当然，每个人都认识到安伯森少校是一个出色的商人，但是，如果他的家人不放弃的话，他会花钱买狗，还有各种各样的事情，有些人认为这种风格注定会让他崩溃！”

One citizen, having thus discoursed to a visitor, came to a thoughtful pause, and then added, “Does seem pretty much like squandering, yet when you see that dog out walking with this Miss Isabel, he seems worth the money.”

一位市民在与一位访客交谈后，若有所思地停顿了一下，然后补充道：“这看起来确实很浪费，但当你看到那只狗和伊莎贝尔小姐一起出去散步时，他似乎值这个钱。”

“What’s she look like?”

“她长什么样？”

“Well, sir,” said the citizen, “she’s not more than just about eighteen or maybe nineteen years old, and I don’t know as I know just how to put it—but she’s kind of a _delightful_ lookin’ young lady!”

“嗯，先生，”公民说，“她不过十八岁或十九岁，我不知道该怎么说，但她是一位看起来很可爱的年轻女士！”

Chapter II

第二章

Another citizen said an eloquent thing about Miss Isabel Amberson’s looks.

另一位公民对伊莎贝尔·安伯森小姐的外表说了一番雄辩的话。

This was Mrs. Henry Franklin Foster, the foremost literary authority and intellectual leader of the community—-for both the daily newspapers thus described Mrs. Foster when she founded the Women’s Tennyson Club; and her word upon art, letters, and the drama was accepted more as law than as opinion.

这就是亨利·富兰克林·福斯特夫人，社会上最重要的文学权威和知识领袖——两家日报都这样描述福斯特夫人创立妇女丁尼生俱乐部时；她关于艺术、文学和戏剧的言论更多地被视为法律而不是观点。

Naturally, when “Hazel Kirke” finally reached the town, after its long triumph in larger places, many people waited to hear what Mrs. Henry Franklin Foster thought of it before they felt warranted in expressing any estimate of the play.

自然地，当《Hazel Kirke》在较大的地方取得了长期的胜利之后，当《Hazel Kirke》最终到达小镇时，许多人都等着听亨利·富兰克林·福斯特夫人对它的看法，然后才觉得有必要表达对这部剧的任何评价。

In fact, some of them waited in the lobby of the theatre, as they came out, and formed an inquiring group about her.

事实上，他们中的一些人在剧院出来后就在大厅里等着，并组成了一个询问她的小组。

“I didn’t see the play,” she informed them.

“我没看过这部戏，”她告诉他们。

“What!

“什么！

Why, we saw you, right in the middle of the fourth row!”

哎呀，我们在第四排中间看到了你！”

“Yes,” she said, smiling, “but I was sitting just behind Isabel Amberson.

“是的，”她微笑着说，“但我坐在伊莎贝尔·安伯森的后面。

I couldn’t look at anything except her wavy brown hair and the wonderful back of her neck.”

除了她那卷曲的棕色头发和美妙的后脖颈，我什么也看不见。”

The ineligible young men of the town (they were all ineligible) were unable to content themselves with the view that had so charmed Mrs. Henry Franklin Foster: they spent their time struggling to keep Miss Amberson’s face turned toward them.

镇上不合格的年轻人（他们都没有资格）无法满足于亨利·富兰克林·福斯特夫人如此着迷的景色：他们花时间努力让安伯森小姐的脸转向他们。

She turned it most often, observers said, toward two: one excelling in the general struggle by his sparkle, and the other by that winning if not winsome old trait, persistence.

观察家们说，她最常把注意力转向两个人：一个人在总体斗争中表现出色，因为他的光芒四射；另一个人则凭借那股即使不是令人着迷的古老特质——坚持不懈，也能赢得胜利。

The sparkling gentleman “led germans” with her, and sent sonnets to her with his bouquets—sonnets lacking neither music nor wit.

这位风度翩翩的绅士带着她“带领德国人”，用他的花束给她寄了十四行诗——这些十四行诗既不缺乏音乐，也不缺乏智慧。

He was generous, poor, well-dressed, and his amazing persuasiveness was one reason why he was always in debt.

他慷慨、贫穷、衣着考究，而他惊人的说服力是他总是负债累累的原因之一。

No one doubted that he would be able to persuade Isabel, but he unfortunately joined too merry a party one night, and, during a moonlight serenade upon the lawn before the Amberson Mansion, was easily identified from the windows as the person who stepped through the bass viol and had to be assisted to a waiting carriage.

没有人怀疑他能够说服伊莎贝尔，但不幸的是，有一天晚上，他参加了一场过于欢乐的聚会，在安伯森大厦前的草坪上奏着月光小夜曲时，从窗户里很容易就认出他就是那个跨过低音提琴、不得不被扶上一辆等候的马车的人。

One of Miss Amberson’s brothers was among the serenaders, and, when the party had dispersed, remained propped against the front door in a state of helpless liveliness; the Major going down in a dressing-gown and slippers to bring him in, and scolding mildly, while imperfectly concealing strong impulses to laughter.

安伯森小姐的一个兄弟也在小夜曲中，当聚会散去后，他仍然靠在前门上，表现出一种无助的活泼状态。少校穿着晨衣和拖鞋下去把他带进来，温和地责骂着，同时完美地掩饰了强烈的笑声。

Miss Amberson also laughed at this brother, the next day, but for the suitor it was a different matter: she refused to see him when he called to apologize.

第二天，安伯森小姐也嘲笑了这位兄弟，但对求婚者来说却是另一回事：当他打电话道歉时，她拒绝见他。

“You seem to care a great deal about bass viols!” he wrote her.

“你似乎非常关心低音提琴！”他写信给她。

“I promise never to break another.” She made no response to the note, unless it was an answer, two weeks later, when her engagement was announced.

“我保证永远不会破坏别人。”她没有对这张纸条做出任何回应，除非两周后她宣布订婚时得到了答复。

She took the persistent one, Wilbur Minafer, no breaker of bass viols or of hearts, no serenader at all.

她选择了最执着的一位，威尔伯·米纳弗（Wilbur Minafer），他没有低音提琴或红心的破坏者，也根本没有小夜曲。

A few people, who always foresaw everything, claimed that they were not surprised, because though Wilbur Minafer “might not be an Apollo, as it were,” he was “a steady young business man, and a good church-goer,” and Isabel Amberson was “pretty sensible—for such a showy girl.” But the engagement astounded the young people, and most of their fathers and mothers, too; and as a topic it supplanted literature at the next meeting of the “Women’s Tennyson Club.”

一些总是预见到一切的人声称他们并不感到惊讶，因为尽管威尔伯·米纳弗“可能不是阿波罗”，但他是“一个稳定的年轻商人，也是一个很好的去教堂的人”，而伊莎贝尔·安伯森“对于这样一个艳丽的女孩来说相当明智”。但这次订婚让年轻人以及他们的大多数父母都感到震惊。在“妇女丁尼生俱乐部”的下一次会议上，它取代了文学作为一个主题。

“Wilbur _Minafer!_” a member cried, her inflection seeming to imply that Wilbur’s crime was explained by his surname.

“威尔伯_米纳弗！_”一名成员喊道，她的语调似乎暗示威尔伯的罪行是由他的姓氏来解释的。

“Wilbur _Minafer!_ It’s the queerest thing I ever heard!

“威尔伯_米纳弗！_这是我听过的最奇怪的事情！

To think of her taking Wilbur Minafer, just because a man _any_ woman would like a thousand times better was a little wild one night at a serenade!”

想到她带走了威尔伯·米纳弗，仅仅因为一个男人——任何一个女人都想要更好一千倍，在一个晚上听小夜曲时就有点疯狂了！

“No,” said Mrs. Henry Franklin Foster.

“不，”亨利·富兰克林·福斯特夫人说。

“It isn’t that.

“不是那样的。

It isn’t even because she’s afraid he’d be a dissipated husband and she wants to be safe.

这甚至不是因为她担心他会成为一个放荡的丈夫，而她想要安全。

It isn’t because she’s religious or hates wildness; it isn’t even because she hates wildness in _him_.”

这并不是因为她有宗教信仰或讨厌野性；而是因为她有宗教信仰。甚至不是因为她讨厌_他_的狂野。”

“Well, but look how she’s thrown him over for it.”

“好吧，但看看她是如何把他扔到一边的。”

“No, that wasn’t her reason,” said the wise Mrs. Henry Franklin Foster.

“不，那不是她的理由，”明智的亨利·富兰克林·福斯特夫人说。

“If men only knew it—and it’s a good thing they don’t—a woman doesn’t really care much about whether a man’s wild or not, if it doesn’t affect herself, and Isabel Amberson doesn’t care a thing!”

“如果男人知道这一点——他们不知道是件好事——女人就不会真正关心男人是否狂野，只要这不会影响到她自己，而伊莎贝尔·安伯森也不在乎！”

“Mrs. _Foster!_”

“太太。 _福斯特！_”

“No, she doesn’t.

“不，她不知道。

What she minds is his making a clown of himself in her front yard!

她介意的是他在她的前院出丑！

It made her think he didn’t care much about _her_.

这让她觉得他不太关心她。

She’s probably mistaken, but that’s what she thinks, and it’s too late for her to think anything else now, because she’s going to be married right away—the invitations will be out next week.

她可能错了，但她就是这么想的，现在想别的都太晚了，因为她马上就要结婚了——请柬下周就会发出。

It’ll be a big Amberson-style thing, raw oysters floating in scooped-out blocks of ice and a band from out-of-town—champagne, showy presents; a colossal present from the Major.

这将是一个安伯森风格的大型活动，生牡蛎漂浮在挖出的冰块中，还有来自外地的乐队——香槟、华丽的礼物；少校送来的一份巨额礼物

Then Wilbur will take Isabel on the carefulest little wedding trip he can manage, and she’ll be a good wife to him, but they’ll have the worst spoiled lot of children this town will ever see.”

然后威尔伯将带伊莎贝尔进行他能安排的最小心的小型婚礼旅行，她将成为他的好妻子，但他们将拥有这个镇上最被宠坏的孩子。”

“How on earth do you make _that_ out, Mrs. Foster?”

“福斯特夫人，你到底是怎么明白这一点的？”

“She couldn’t love Wilbur, could she?” Mrs. Foster demanded, with no challengers.

“她不可能爱威尔伯，不是吗？”福斯特夫人问道，没有人反对。

“Well, it will all go to her children, and she’ll ruin ’em!”

“好吧，这一切都会归她的孩子们所有，她会毁了他们！”

The prophetess proved to be mistaken in a single detail merely: except for that, her foresight was accurate.

事实证明，这位女先知仅仅在一个细节上犯了错误：除此之外，她的预见是准确的。

The wedding was of Ambersonian magnificence, even to the floating oysters; and the Major’s colossal present was a set of architect’s designs for a house almost as elaborate and impressive as the Mansion, the house to be built in Amberson Addition by the Major.

这场婚礼充满了安伯森式的华丽，甚至对漂浮的牡蛎也是如此。少校的巨额礼物是一套建筑师设计的房子，几乎和豪宅一样精致和令人印象深刻，这座房子将由少校在安伯森附加区建造。

The orchestra was certainly not that local one which had suffered the loss of a bass viol; the musicians came, according to the prophecy and next morning’s paper, from afar; and at midnight the bride was still being toasted in champagne, though she had departed upon her wedding journey at ten.

该乐团当然不是那个失去了低音提琴的当地乐团。根据预言和第二天早上的报纸，音乐家们从远方赶来。午夜时分，新娘仍然在香槟中敬酒，尽管她十点钟就出发去参加婚礼了。

Four days later the pair had returned to town, which promptness seemed fairly to demonstrate that Wilbur had indeed taken Isabel upon the carefulest little trip he could manage.

四天后，两人回到了城里，这迅速似乎足以证明威尔伯确实带着伊莎贝尔进行了他能安排的最小心的小旅行。

According to every report, she was from the start “a good wife to him,” but here in a final detail the prophecy proved inaccurate.

根据每一份报告，她从一开始就是“他的好妻子”，但在最后的细节上，这个预言被证明是不准确的。

Wilbur and Isabel did not have children; they had only one.

威尔伯和伊莎贝尔没有孩子。他们只有一个。

“Only one,” Mrs. Henry Franklin Foster admitted.

“只有一个，”亨利·富兰克林·福斯特夫人承认。

“But I’d like to know if he isn’t spoiled enough for a whole carload!”

“但我想知道他是否还没有被宠坏到足以装满一车车！”

Again she found none to challenge her.

她再次发现没有人可以挑战她。

At the age of nine, George Amberson Minafer, the Major’s one grandchild, was a princely terror, dreaded not only in Amberson Addition but in many other quarters through which he galloped on his white pony.

乔治·安伯森·米纳弗（George Amberson Minafer），少校的一个孙子，九岁时就成了一位王子般的恐怖分子，不仅在安伯森区，而且在他骑着白色小马驰骋穿过的许多其他地区都令人畏惧。

“By golly, I guess you think you own this town!” an embittered labourer complained, one day, as Georgie rode the pony straight through a pile of sand the man was sieving.

“天哪，我猜你以为你拥有这个小镇！”有一天，当乔吉骑着小马径直穿过那人正在筛的一堆沙子时，一位心怀怨恨的劳工抱怨道。

“I will when I grow up,” the undisturbed child replied.

“等我长大了，我会的。”不受打扰的孩子回答道。

“I guess my grandpa owns it now, you bet!” And the baffled workman, having no means to controvert what seemed a mere exaggeration of the facts could only mutter “Oh, pull down your vest!”

“我猜现在它是我爷爷的了，你敢打赌！”而困惑的工人却没有办法反驳看似夸大事实的说法，只能嘟哝道：“哦，把你的背心脱下来吧！”

“Don’t haf to!

“不必！

Doctor says it ain’t healthy!” the boy returned promptly.

医生说不健康！”男孩很快就回来了。

“But I’ll tell you what I’ll do: I’ll pull down my vest if you’ll wipe off your chin!”

“但我会告诉你我会做什么：如果你擦掉下巴，我就脱下我的背心！”

This was stock and stencil: the accustomed argot of street badinage of the period; and in such matters Georgie was an expert.

这是股票和模板：当时街头恶作剧的惯用语。在这些事情上，乔吉是个专家。

He had no vest to pull down; the incongruous fact was that a fringed sash girdled the juncture of his velvet blouse and breeches, for the Fauntleroy period had set in, and Georgie’s mother had so poor an eye for appropriate things, where Georgie was concerned, that she dressed him according to the doctrine of that school in boy decoration.

他没有背心可以脱下来；不协调的事实是，他的天鹅绒上衣和马裤的连接处系着一条流苏腰带，因为方特勒时代已经到来，而乔吉的母亲对合适的事物的眼光太差了，就乔吉而言，她按照该学校男孩装饰的教条给他穿衣服。

Not only did he wear a silk sash, and silk stockings, and a broad lace collar, with his little black velvet suit: he had long brown curls, and often came home with burrs in them.

他不仅系着丝绸腰带、丝袜、宽大的蕾丝领子和黑色天鹅绒小西装，而且还留着长长的棕色卷发，回家时常常带着毛刺。

Except upon the surface (which was not his own work, but his mother’s) Georgie bore no vivid resemblance to the fabulous little Cedric.

除了表面上（这不是他自己的作品，而是他母亲的作品）之外，乔吉与神话般的小塞德里克没有任何生动的相似之处。

The storied boy’s famous “Lean on _me_, grandfather,” would have been difficult to imagine upon the lips of Georgie.

这位传奇男孩著名的“依靠我，祖父”很难想象是从乔治嘴里说出的。

A month after his ninth birthday anniversary, when the Major gave him his pony, he had already become acquainted with the toughest boys in various distant parts of the town, and had convinced them that the toughness of a rich little boy with long curls might be considered in many respects superior to their own.

在他九岁生日一个月后，当少校把他的小马送给他时，他已经熟悉了镇上各个偏远地区最坚强的男孩，并让他们相信，一个留着长卷发的富有的小男孩的坚韧可能在很多方面都优于他们自己。

He fought them, learning how to go berserk at a certain point in a fight, bursting into tears of anger, reaching for rocks, uttering wailed threats of murder and attempting to fulfil them.

他与他们战斗，学习如何在战斗中的某个时刻变得狂暴，愤怒地流泪，伸手去拿石头，大声喊出谋杀威胁并试图实现它们。

Fights often led to intimacies, and he acquired the art of saying things more exciting than “Don’t haf to!” and “Doctor says it ain’t healthy!” Thus, on a summer afternoon, a strange boy, sitting bored upon the gate-post of the Reverend Malloch Smith, beheld George Amberson Minafer rapidly approaching on his white pony, and was impelled by bitterness to shout: “Shoot the ole jackass!

争吵常常导致亲密关系，他学会了说比“不必！”更令人兴奋的话的艺术。和“医生说这不健康！”因此，在一个夏日的午后，一个陌生的男孩无聊地坐在马洛赫·史密斯牧师的门柱上，看到乔治·安伯森·米纳弗骑着他的白马迅速接近，他痛苦地喊道：“射杀这个老驴！

Look at the girly curls!

看看少女感十足的卷发！

Say, bub, where’d you steal your mother’s ole sash!”

说吧，小伙子，你从哪里偷了你妈妈的旧腰带！”

“Your sister stole it for me!” Georgie instantly replied, checking the pony.

“是你姐姐偷给我的！”乔吉立即回答，检查小马。

“She stole it off our clo’es-line an’ gave it to me.”

“她从我们的线上偷走了它，然后给了我。”

“You go get your hair cut!” said the stranger hotly.

“你去剪头发吧！”陌生人热情地说。

“Yah!

“啊！

I haven’t got any sister!”

我没有妹妹！”

“I know you haven’t at home,” Georgie responded.

“我知道你不在家，”乔吉回答道。

“I mean the one that’s in jail.”

“我指的是那个在监狱里的人。”

“I dare you to get down off that pony!”

“我敢让你从那匹小马身上下来！”

Georgie jumped to the ground, and the other boy descended from the Reverend Mr. Smith’s gatepost—but he descended inside the gate.

乔吉跳到地上，另一个男孩从史密斯牧师先生的门柱上下来——但他落在了门内。

“I dare you outside that gate,” said Georgie.

“我敢说你敢走出那扇门，”乔吉说。

“Yah!

“啊！

I dare you half way here.

我敢说你已经走到一半了。

I dare you—”

我敢说你——”

But these were luckless challenges, for Georgie immediately vaulted the fence—and four minutes later Mrs. Malloch Smith, hearing strange noises, looked forth from a window; then screamed, and dashed for the pastor’s study.

但这些都是不幸的挑战，因为乔吉立即跳过了栅栏——四分钟后，马洛赫·史密斯夫人听到了奇怪的声音，从窗户向外张望；然后尖叫着冲向牧师的书房。

Mr. Malloch Smith, that grim-bearded Methodist, came to the front yard and found his visiting nephew being rapidly prepared by Master Minafer to serve as a principal figure in a pageant of massacre.

马洛赫·史密斯先生，那个留着冷酷胡子的卫理公会教徒，来到前院，发现他来访的侄子正被米纳弗大师迅速准备好，成为一场大屠杀的主要人物。

It was with great physical difficulty that Mr. Smith managed to give his nephew a chance to escape into the house, for Georgie was hard and quick, and, in such matters, remarkably intense; but the minister, after a grotesque tussle, got him separated from his opponent, and shook him.

史密斯先生费了很大的体力才给他的侄子一个逃进屋里的机会，因为乔吉性格刚硬、动作敏捷，而且在这种事情上还非常激烈。但在一场怪诞的扭打之后，牧师把他和对手分开，并摇晃了他。

“You stop that, you!” Georgie cried fiercely; and wrenched himself away.

“你别这样了，你！”乔吉放声大哭。并把自己扭开。

“I guess you don’t know who I am!”

“我猜你不知道我是谁！”

“Yes, I do know!” the angered Mr. Smith retorted.

“是的，我知道！”愤怒的史密斯先生反驳道。

“I know who you are, and you’re a disgrace to your mother!

“我知道你是谁，你是你母亲的耻辱！

Your mother ought to be ashamed of herself to allow—”

你母亲应该为自己的行为感到羞耻——”

“Shut up about my mother bein’ ashamed of herself!”

“闭嘴，我母亲为自己感到羞耻！”

Mr. Smith, exasperated, was unable to close the dialogue with dignity.

史密斯先生被激怒了，无法有尊严地结束对话。

“She ought to be ashamed,” he repeated.

“她应该感到羞耻，”他重复道。

“A woman that lets a bad boy like you—”

“一个女人会让像你这样的坏男孩——”

But Georgie had reached his pony and mounted.

但乔吉已经走到他的小马身边并骑上了马。

Before setting off at his accustomed gallop, he paused to interrupt the Reverend Malloch Smith again.

在以惯常的速度出发之前，他停下来再次打断马洛赫·史密斯牧师。

“You pull down your vest, you ole Billygoat, you!” he shouted, distinctly.

“你把背心脱下来，你这个老比利山羊！”他清晰地喊道。

“Pull down your vest, wipe off your chin—an’ go to hell!”

“脱下你的背心，擦掉你的下巴——见鬼去吧！”

Such precocity is less unusual, even in children of the Rich, than most grown people imagine.

即使对于富人的孩子来说，这种早熟并不像大多数成年人想象的那么罕见。

However, it was a new experience for the Reverend Malloch Smith, and left him in a state of excitement.

然而，这对马洛赫·史密斯牧师来说却是一次全新的体验，让他兴奋不已。

He at once wrote a note to Georgie’s mother, describing the crime according to his nephew’s testimony; and the note reached Mrs. Minafer before Georgie did.

他立即给乔吉的母亲写了一张便条，根据他侄子的证词描述了罪行；这张字条先于乔吉到达了米纳弗太太手中。

When he got home she read it to him sorrowfully.

当他回到家时，她悲伤地读给他听。

Dear Madam:

亲爱的女士：

Your son has caused a painful distress in my household.

你的儿子给我家带来了痛苦。

He made an unprovoked attack upon a little nephew of mine who is visiting in my household, insulted him by calling him vicious names and falsehoods, stating that ladies of his family were in jail.

他无端攻击到我家来探望的我的小侄子，用恶毒的谩骂和谎言来侮辱他，还说他家里的女士们都在监狱里。

He then tried to make his pony kick him, and when the child, who is only eleven years old, while your son is much older and stronger, endeavoured to avoid his indignities and withdraw quietly, he pursued him into the enclosure of my property and brutally assaulted him.

然后他试图让他的小马踢他，当那个只有十一岁的孩子（而你的儿子年纪更大、更强壮）努力避免他的侮辱并安静地退出时，他追赶他进入我的财产围场并残酷地袭击了他。

When I appeared upon this scene he deliberately called insulting words to me, concluding with profanity, such as “go to hell,” which was heard not only by myself but by my wife and the lady who lives next door.

当我出现在这个场景时，他故意对我说侮辱性的话，最后用脏话结束，比如“见鬼去吧”，这不仅是我自己听到的，我的妻子和住在隔壁的女士也听到了。

I trust such a state of undisciplined behaviour may be remedied for the sake of the reputation for propriety, if nothing higher, of the family to which this unruly child belongs.

我相信，为了这个不守规矩的孩子所属家庭的礼仪声誉，甚至更高的声誉，这种不守纪律的行为状态可能会得到纠正。

Georgie had muttered various interruptions, and as she concluded the reading he said: “He’s an ole liar!”

乔吉嘟囔着各种打断，当她结束朗读时，他说：“他是个大骗子！”

“Georgie, you mustn’t say ‘liar.’ Isn’t this letter the truth?”

“乔吉，你不许说‘骗子’。这封信不是真的吗？”

“Well,” said Georgie, “how old am I?”

“嗯，”乔吉说，“我多大了？”

“Ten.”

“十。”

“Well, look how he says I’m older than a boy eleven years old.”

“好吧，你看他怎么说我比一个十一岁的男孩还大。”

“That’s true,” said Isabel.

“确实如此，”伊莎贝尔说。

“He does.

“他确实这么做了。

But isn’t some of it true, Georgie?”

但其中有些不是真的吗，乔吉？”

Georgie felt himself to be in a difficulty here, and he was silent.

乔吉觉得自己在这里遇到了困难，他沉默了。

“Georgie, did you say what he says you did?”

“乔吉，你说的和他说的一样吗？”

“Which one?”

“哪一个？”

“Did you tell him to—to—Did you say, ‘Go to hell?’”

“你有没有告诉他——你——你有没有说，‘见鬼去吧？’”

Georgie looked worried for a moment longer; then he brightened.

乔吉又显得忧心忡忡了一会儿。然后他眼前一亮。

“Listen here, mamma; grandpa wouldn’t wipe his shoe on that ole story-teller, would he?”

“听着，妈妈；爷爷不会在那个老说书人身上擦鞋吧？”

“Georgie, you mustn’t—”

“乔吉，你不可以——”

“I mean: none of the Ambersons wouldn’t have anything to do with him, would they?

“我的意思是：安伯森一家不会和他有任何关系，不是吗？

He doesn’t even know _you_, does he, mamma?”

他甚至不认识你，是吗，妈妈？”

“That hasn’t anything to do with it.”

“这与此无关。”

“Yes, it has!

“是的，有！

I mean: none of the Amberson family go to see him, and they never have him come in their house; they wouldn’t ask him to, and they prob’ly wouldn’t even let him.”

我的意思是：安伯森一家没有人去看他，他们也从来没有让他进过他们的房子；他们不会要求他这样做，而且可能甚至不会让他这么做。”

“That isn’t what we’re talking about.”

“这不是我们正在谈论的。”

“I bet,” said Georgie emphatically, “I bet if he wanted to see any of ’em, he’d haf to go around to the side door!”

“我敢打赌，”乔吉强调道，“我敢打赌，如果他想看到他们中的任何一个，他就必须绕到侧门！”

“No, dear, they—”

“不，亲爱的，他们——”

“Yes, they would, mamma!

“是的，他们会的，妈妈！

So what does it matter if I did say somep’m’ to him he didn’t like?

那么，如果我确实对他说了一些他不喜欢的事情，那又有什么关系呢？

That kind o’ people, I don’t see why you can’t say anything you want to, to ’em!”

那样的人，我不明白为什么你不能对他们说任何你想说的话！”

“No, Georgie.

“不，乔吉。

And you haven’t answered me whether you said that dreadful thing he says you did.”

你还没有回答我你是否说过他说你做过的那件可怕的事情。”

“Well—” said Georgie.

“嗯——”乔吉说。

“Anyway, he said somep’m’ to me that made me mad.” And upon this point he offered no further details; he would not explain to his mother that what had made him “mad” was Mr. Smith’s hasty condemnation of herself: “Your mother ought to be ashamed,” and, “A woman that lets a bad boy like you—” Georgie did not even consider excusing himself by quoting these insolences.

“不管怎样，他对我说了一些让我生气的事情。”关于这一点，他没有提供更多细节。他不会向母亲解释，让他“生气”的是史密斯先生对自己的仓促谴责：“你的母亲应该感到羞耻”，“一个女人竟然让一个像你这样的坏男孩——”乔吉甚至没有考虑通过引用这些无礼的行为来为自己辩解。

Isabel stroked his head.

伊莎贝尔抚摸着他的头。

“They were terrible words for you to use, dear.

“亲爱的，这些话对你来说太糟糕了。

From his letter he doesn’t seem a very tactful person, but—”

从他的信来看，他似乎不是一个很圆滑的人，但是——”

“He’s just riffraff,” said Georgie.

“他只是个痞子，”乔吉说。

“You mustn’t say so,” his mother gently agreed “Where did you learn those bad words he speaks of?

“你不能这么说，”他母亲温和地同意道，“他说的那些脏话你是从哪里学来的？

Where did you hear any one use them?”

你在哪里听说有人用过它们？”

“Well, I’ve heard ’em several places.

“嗯，我在好几个地方都听过他们的声音。

I guess Uncle George Amberson was the _first_ I ever heard say ’em.

我猜乔治·安伯森叔叔是我第一个听到这么说的人。

Uncle George Amberson said ’em to papa once.

乔治·安伯森叔叔曾经对爸爸说过这句话。

Papa didn’t like it, but Uncle George was just laughin’ at papa, an’ then he said ’em while he was laughin’.”

爸爸不喜欢，但乔治叔叔只是在嘲笑爸爸，然后他一边笑一边说这些话。”

“That was wrong of him,” she said, but almost instinctively he detected the lack of conviction in her tone.

“他错了，”她说，但他几乎本能地察觉到她语气中缺乏信念。

It was Isabel’s great failing that whatever an Amberson did seemed right to her, especially if the Amberson was either her brother George, or her son George.

伊莎贝尔最大的失败是，无论安伯森家族做什么，她都认为是对的，尤其是如果安伯森家族要么是她的哥哥乔治，要么是她的儿子乔治。

She knew that she should be more severe with the latter now, but severity with him was beyond her power; and the Reverend Malloch Smith had succeeded only in rousing her resentment against himself.

她知道现在应该对后者更加严厉，但对他严厉却超出了她的能力范围。马洛赫·史密斯牧师只是激起了她对他自己的怨恨。

Georgie’s symmetrical face—altogether an Amberson face—had looked never more beautiful to her.

乔吉那张对称的脸——完全就是一张安伯森脸——在她看来从未如此美丽过。

It always looked unusually beautiful when she tried to be severe with him.

当她试图对他严厉时，总是显得异常美丽。

“You must promise me,” she said feebly, “never to use those bad words again.”

“你必须答应我，”她有气无力地说，“永远不要再说那些脏话了。”

“I promise not to,” he said promptly—and he whispered an immediate codicil under his breath: “Unless I get mad at somebody!” This satisfied a code according to which, in his own sincere belief, he never told lies.

“我保证不会，”他立即说道，然后低声附和道：“除非我生某人的气！”这满足了他的一个准则，根据这个准则，他真诚地相信，他从不说谎。

“That’s a good boy,” she said, and he ran out to the yard, his punishment over.

“这是个好孩子，”她说，他跑到院子里，他的惩罚结束了。

Some admiring friends were gathered there; they had heard of his adventure, knew of the note, and were waiting to see what was going to “happen” to him.

一些仰慕的朋友聚集在那里；他们听说过他的冒险经历，知道这张纸条，并等着看他身上会“发生”什么。

They hoped for an account of things, and also that he would allow them to “take turns” riding his pony to the end of the alley and back.

他们希望得到一个解释，也希望他允许他们“轮流”骑着他的小马到巷子尽头然后返回。

They were really his henchmen: Georgie was a lord among boys.

他们确实是他的追随者：乔吉是男孩中的领主。

In fact, he was a personage among certain sorts of grown people, and was often fawned upon; the alley negroes delighted in him, chuckled over him, flattered him slavishly.

事实上，他是某些成年人中的人物，经常受到阿谀奉承。巷子里的黑人很喜欢他，对他咯咯地笑，奴性地奉承他。

For that matter, he often heard well-dressed people speaking of him admiringly: a group of ladies once gathered about him on the pavement where he was spinning a top.

就此而言，他经常听到穿着考究的人对他表示钦佩：有一次，在他纺陀螺的人行道上，一群女士聚集在他周围。

“I _know_ this is Georgie!” one exclaimed, and turned to the others with the impressiveness of a showman.

“我知道这是乔吉！”其中一人惊呼一声，然后转向其他人，一副表演者的样子。

“Major Amberson’s only grandchild!” The others said, “It is?” and made clicking sounds with their mouths; two of them loudly whispering, “So handsome!”

“安伯森少校唯一的孙子！”其他人纷纷道：“是吗？”并用嘴发出咔哒声；两人小声嘀咕：“好帅啊！”

Georgie, annoyed because they kept standing upon the circle he had chalked for his top, looked at them coldly and offered a suggestion:

乔吉因为他们一直站在他用粉笔画成上衣的圆圈上而感到恼火，冷冷地看着他们，提出了一个建议：

“Oh, go hire a hall!”

“哦，去租个大厅吧！”

As an Amberson, he was already a public character, and the story of his adventure in the Reverend Malloch Smith’s front yard became a town topic.

作为安伯森家族的一员，他已经是一个公众人物，他在马洛赫·史密斯牧师前院的冒险故事成为了镇上的话题。

Many people glanced at him with great distaste, thereafter, when they chanced to encounter him, which meant nothing to Georgie, because he innocently believed most grown people to be necessarily cross-looking as a normal phenomenon resulting from the adult state; and he failed to comprehend that the distasteful glances had any personal bearing upon himself.

从此以后，当他们偶然遇到他时，很多人都用非常厌恶的眼光看着他，这对乔吉来说毫无意义，因为他天真地认为大多数成年人必然会互相看向，这是成人状态下的正常现象；他不明白这些令人厌恶的目光对他个人有什么影响。

If he had perceived such a bearing, he would have been affected only so far, probably, as to mutter, “Riffraff!” Possibly he would have shouted it; and, certainly, most people believed a story that went round the town just after Mrs. Amberson’s funeral, when Georgie was eleven.

如果他察觉到了这样的态度，他可能只会受到影响，甚至咕哝道：“痞子！”也许他会大声喊出来；也许他会大声喊出来。当然，大多数人都相信安伯森夫人葬礼刚结束时镇上流传的一个故事，当时乔吉十一岁。

Georgie was reported to have differed with the undertaker about the seating of the family; his indignant voice had become audible: “Well, who is the most important person at my own grandmother’s funeral?” And later he had projected his head from the window of the foremost mourners’ carriage, as the undertaker happened to pass.

据报道，乔吉与殡葬承办人在家人的座位安排问题上存在分歧。他愤怒的声音清晰可闻：“那么，在我祖母的葬礼上，谁是最重要的人？”后来，当殡仪员碰巧经过时，他把头从最前面的送葬者车厢的窗户伸出来。

“_Riffraff!_”

“_痞子！_”

There were people—grown people they were—who expressed themselves longingly: they _did_ hope to live to see the day, they said, when that boy would get his come-upance!

有些人——他们是成年人——表达了自己的渴望：他们说，他们确实希望活着看到那一天，那个男孩会得到报应！

(They used that honest word, so much better than “deserts,” and not until many years later to be more clumsily rendered as “what is coming to him.”) _Something_ was bound to take him down, some day, and they only wanted to be there!

（他们用了这个诚实的词，比“沙漠”好得多，直到很多年后才被更笨拙地翻译为“他即将面临的事情”。）总有一天，_有些东西_一定会把他打倒，而他们只想在那里！

But Georgie heard nothing of this, and the yearners for his taking down went unsatisfied, while their yearning grew the greater as the happy day of fulfilment was longer and longer postponed.

但乔吉对此一无所知，对他下台的渴望并没有得到满足，而随着幸福的实现日被推迟得越来越久，他们的渴望也越来越强烈。

His grandeur was not diminished by the Malloch Smith story; the rather it was increased, and among other children (especially among little girls) there was added to the prestige of his gilded position that diabolical glamour which must inevitably attend a boy who has told a minister to go to hell.

他的伟大并没有因为马洛赫·史密斯的故事而减弱。相反，它增加了，在其他孩子中（特别是在小女孩中），他镀金地位的威望增加了一种恶魔般的魅力，这种魅力必然伴随着一个告诉牧师下地狱的男孩。

Chapter III

第三章

Until he reached the age of twelve, Georgie’s education was a domestic process; tutors came to the house; and those citizens who yearned for his taking down often said: “Just wait till he has to go to public school; _then_ he’ll get it!” But at twelve Georgie was sent to a private school in the town, and there came from this small and dependent institution no report, or even rumour, of Georgie’s getting anything that he was thought to deserve; therefore the yearning still persisted, though growing gaunt with feeding upon itself.

在乔治十二岁之前，他的教育都是在家庭中进行的。家庭教师来到了家里；那些渴望他下台的公民常常说：“等他上公立学校，他就上学了！”但十二岁的时候，乔吉被送到镇上的一所私立学校，这个小而依赖的机构没有传来任何报告，甚至没有谣言说乔吉得到了他被认为应得的任何东西；他没有得到任何回报。因此，这种渴望依然存在，尽管它因自我吞噬而变得憔悴。

For, although Georgie’s pomposities and impudence in the little school were often almost unbearable, the teachers were fascinated by him.

因为，虽然乔吉在小学校里的浮夸和无礼常常令人难以忍受，但老师们却对他着迷。

They did not like him—he was too arrogant for that—but he kept them in such a state of emotion that they thought more about him than they did about all of the other ten pupils.

他们不喜欢他——他太傲慢了——但他让他们保持一种情绪状态，以至于他们对他的思考比对其他十个学生的思考还要多。

The emotion he kept them in was usually one resulting from injured self-respect, but sometimes it was dazzled admiration.

他让他们保持的情绪通常是一种自尊心受到伤害的情绪，但有时也是一种令人眼花缭乱的钦佩。

So far as their conscientious observation went, he “studied” his lessons sparingly; but sometimes, in class, he flashed an admirable answer, with a comprehension not often shown by the pupils they taught; and he passed his examinations easily.

就他们认真的观察而言，他很少“学习”他的课程。但有时，在课堂上，他会给出令人钦佩的答案，其理解力是他们所教的学生所不常见的。他很容易就通过了考试。

In all, without discernible effort, he acquired at this school some rudiments of a liberal education and learned nothing whatever about himself.

总而言之，在没有付出明显努力的情况下，他在这所学校获得了一些自由教育的基础知识，却对自己一无所知。

The yearners were still yearning when Georgie, at sixteen, was sent away to a great “Prep School.” “Now,” they said brightly, “he’ll get it!

当乔治十六岁被送到一所伟大的“预科学校”时，那些渴望者们仍然在渴望。 “现在，”他们高兴地说，“他会得到它的！

He’ll find himself among boys just as important in their home towns as he is, and they’ll knock the stuffing out of him when he puts on his airs with them!

他会发现自己在家乡的男孩中和他一样重要，当他在他们面前装腔作势时，他们会把他打得屁滚尿流！

Oh, but that _would_ be worth something to see!” They were mistaken, it appeared, for when Georgie returned, a few months later, he still seemed to have the same stuffing.

哦，但是那_应该_值得一看！看来他们错了，几个月后，当乔吉回来时，他似乎仍然有同样的馅料。

He had been deported by the authorities, the offense being stated as “insolence and profanity”; in fact, he had given the principal of the school instructions almost identical with those formerly objected to by the Reverend Malloch Smith.

他被当局驱逐出境，罪名是“无礼和亵渎”；事实上，他向校长发出的指示几乎与马洛赫·史密斯牧师先前反对的指示相同。

But he had not got his come-upance, and those who counted upon it were embittered by his appearance upon the down-town streets driving a dog-cart at criminal speed, making pedestrians retreat from the crossings, and behaving generally as if he “owned the earth.” A disgusted hardware dealer of middle age, one of those who hungered for Georgie’s downfall, was thus driven back upon the sidewalk to avoid being run over, and so far forgot himself as to make use of the pet street insult of the year: “Got ’ny _sense!_ See here, bub, does your mother know you’re out?”

但他并没有得到应有的惩罚，那些指望得到惩罚的人对他出现在市中心街道上、以惊人的速度驾驶一辆马车、迫使行人从十字路口撤退、表现得好像他“拥有地球”一样感到愤怒。一位厌恶的中年五金经销商，也是那些渴望乔吉垮台的人之一，就这样被赶回到人行道上，以避免被碾死，他忘记了自己，以至于利用了今年宠物街头的侮辱：“明白吗！_看这里，小伙子，你妈妈知道你出去了吗？”

Georgie, without even seeming to look at him, flicked the long lash of his whip dexterously, and a little spurt of dust came from the hardware man’s trousers, not far below the waist.

乔吉似乎连看都不看他一眼，灵巧地挥动着长长的鞭子，一阵灰尘从五金工的裤子上喷出来，距离腰部不远。

He was not made of hardware: he raved, looking for a missile; then, finding none, commanded himself sufficiently to shout after the rapid dog-cart: “Turn down your pants, you would-be dude!

他不是由硬件制成的：他胡言乱语，寻找导弹；然后，发现什么也没有，就命令自己在快速的狗车后面喊道：“脱掉你的裤子，你这个自以为是的家伙！

Raining in dear ole Lunnon!

亲爱的奥伦农下雨了！

Git off the earth!”

从地球上滚出去！”

Georgie gave him no encouragement to think that he was heard.

乔吉没有鼓励他相信他的意见得到了倾听。

The dog-cart turned the next corner, causing indignation there, likewise, and, having proceeded some distance farther, halted in front of the “Amberson Block”—an old-fashioned four-story brick warren of lawyers’ offices, insurance and realestate offices, with a “drygoods store” occupying the ground floor.

马车转过下一个拐角，同样引起了当地的愤慨，并继续行驶了一段距离，停在“安伯森街区”前——这是一座老式的四层砖砌建筑，里面有律师办公室、保险和房地产办公室，底层还有一家“干货店”。

Georgie tied his lathered trotter to a telegraph pole, and stood for a moment looking at the building critically: it seemed shabby, and he thought his grandfather ought to replace it with a fourteen-story skyscraper, or even a higher one, such as he had lately seen in New York—when he stopped there for a few days of recreation and rest on his way home from the bereaved school.

乔吉把沾满泡沫的小蹄子绑在一根电线杆上，站了一会儿，批判性地审视着这座建筑：它看起来很破旧，他认为他的祖父应该用一座十四层的摩天大楼来取代它，甚至更高的摩天大楼，就像他最近在纽约看到的那样——当时他在那里停下来休息了几天，从失去亲人的学校回家的路上休息了一下。

About the entryway to the stairs were various tin signs, announcing the occupation and location of upper-floor tenants, and Georgie decided to take some of these with him if he should ever go to college.

楼梯入口处有各种锡制标志，上面写着上层房客的职业和位置，乔吉决定如果他上大学的话，一定要带上其中一些标志。

However, he did not stop to collect them at this time, but climbed the worn stairs—there was no elevator—to the fourth floor, went down a dark corridor, and rapped three times upon a door.

不过，他此时并没有停下来收，而是爬上破旧的楼梯——没有电梯——到了四楼，穿过黑暗的走廊，敲了三下门。

It was a mysterious door, its upper half, of opaque glass, bearing no sign to state the business or profession of the occupants within; but overhead, upon the lintel, four letters had been smearingly inscribed, partly with purple ink and partly with a soft lead pencil, “F.

这是一扇神秘的门，它的上半部分是不透明的玻璃，没有任何迹象表明里面居住者的业务或职业。但头顶上的门楣上，涂着四个字母，部分是用紫色墨水，部分是用软铅笔写的：“F.

O.

奥。

T.

T。

A.” and upon the plaster wall, above the lintel, there was a drawing dear to male adolescence: a skull and crossbones.

A.”门楣上方的灰泥墙上，画着一幅青少年时期喜爱的图画：骷髅和交叉骨。

Three raps, similar to Georgie’s, sounded from within the room.

房间里响起了三声敲击声，与乔吉的声音类似。

Georgie then rapped four times the rapper within the room rapped twice, and Georgie rapped seven times.

然后乔治敲了四遍，房间里的说唱歌手敲了两遍，乔治敲了七遍。

This ended precautionary measures; and a well-dressed boy of sixteen opened the door; whereupon Georgie entered quickly, and the door was closed behind him.

预防措施就此结束；一个穿着考究的十六岁男孩打开了门。乔吉很快就进来了，门在他身后关上了。

Seven boys of congenial age were seated in a semicircular row of damaged office chairs, facing a platform whereon stood a solemn, red-haired young personage with a table before him.

七个年龄相投的男孩坐在半圆形的一排破损的办公椅上，面对一个平台，平台上站着一个庄重的红发年轻人，他面前有一张桌子。

At one end of the room there was a battered sideboard, and upon it were some empty beer bottles, a tobacco can about two-thirds full, with a web of mold over the surface of the tobacco, a dusty cabinet photograph (not inscribed) of Miss Lillian Russell, several withered old pickles, a caseknife, and a half-petrified section of icing-cake on a sooty plate.

房间的一端有一个破旧的餐具柜，上面放着一些空啤酒瓶，一个大约装了三分之二的烟草罐，烟草表面长满了一层霉菌，柜子里放着一张布满灰尘的莉莲·拉塞尔小姐的照片（没有刻字），几个枯萎的老泡菜，一把切刀，还有一块放在黑黑盘子里的半石化的糖霜蛋糕。

At the other end of the room were two rickety card-tables and a stand of bookshelves where were displayed under dust four or five small volumes of M.

房间的另一端有两张摇摇晃晃的牌桌和一个书架，书架上积满了灰尘，陈列着四五本小册子。

Guy de Maupassant’s stories, “Robinson Crusoe,” “Sappho,” “Mr. Barnes of New York,” a work by Giovanni Boccaccio, a Bible, “The Arabian Nights’ Entertainment,” “Studies of the Human Form Divine,” “The Little Minister,” and a clutter of monthly magazines and illustrated weeklies of about that crispness one finds in such articles upon a doctor’s ante-room table.

莫泊桑的短篇小说、《鲁滨逊漂流记》、《萨福》、《纽约的巴恩斯先生》、乔瓦尼·薄伽丘的一部作品、一本《圣经》、《一千零一夜的娱乐》、《人体神圣研究》、《小大臣》，以及一堆月刊和插图周刊，讲述了人们在医生接待室的桌子上发现的此类文章的清晰内容。

Upon the wall, above the sideboard, was an old framed lithograph of Miss Della Fox in “Wang”; over the bookshelves there was another lithograph purporting to represent Mr. John L.

墙上的餐具柜上方，挂着一幅《王》中黛拉·福克斯小姐的旧版画，装框了。书架上方还有另一幅石版画，据称是约翰·L·肯尼迪先生的代表作。

Sullivan in a boxing costume, and beside it a halftone reproduction of “A Reading From Horner.” The final decoration consisted of damaged papiermache—a round shield with two battle-axes and two cross-hilted swords, upon the wall over the little platform where stood the red-haired presiding officer.

沙利文穿着拳击服，旁边是半色调复制的《霍纳朗读》。最后的装饰包括损坏的纸浆——一面圆形盾牌，上面有两把战斧和两把十字柄剑，挂在红发主持官员站着的小平台上方的墙上。

He addressed Georgie in a serious voice:

他用严肃的语气对乔吉说道：

“Welcome, Friend of the Ace.”

“欢迎光临，王牌之友。”

“Welcome, Friend of the Ace,” Georgie responded, and all of the other boys repeated the words, “Welcome, Friend of the Ace.”

“欢迎，王牌之友，”乔吉回应道，所有其他男孩也重复了这句话，“欢迎，王牌之友。”

“Take your seat in the secret semicircle,” said the presiding officer.

“在秘密半圆内就座，”主持人说道。

“We will now proceed to—”

“我们现在将着手——”

But Georgie was disposed to be informal.

但乔吉倾向于不拘礼节。

He interrupted, turning to the boy who had admitted him: “Look here, Charlie Johnson, what’s Fred Kinney doing in the president’s chair?

他打断了他的话，转向接纳他的男孩：“查理·约翰逊，你看，弗雷德·金尼坐在总统的椅子上做什么？

That’s my place, isn’t it?

那是我的地方，不是吗？

What you men been up to here, anyhow?

你们到底在这儿做什么？

Didn’t you all agree I was to be president just the same, even if I was away at school?”

你们不是都同意我会当总统吗，即使我不在学校？”

“Well—” said Charlie Johnson uneasily.

“呃——”查理·约翰逊不安地说。

“Listen!

“听着！

I didn’t have much to do with it.

我与它没有太多关系。

Some of the other members thought that long as you weren’t in town or anything, and Fred gave the sideboard, why—”

其他一些成员认为只要你不在城里或其他什么地方，弗雷德就把餐具柜给了，为什么——”

Mr. Kinney, presiding, held in his hand, in lieu of a gavel, and considered much more impressive, a Civil War relic known as a “horse-pistol.” He rapped loudly for order.

主持会议的金尼先生手里拿着一把被称为“马手枪”的内战遗物，而不是木槌，他被认为更令人印象深刻。他大声敲门以示秩序。

“All Friends of the Ace will take their seats!” he said sharply.

“所有王牌之友请入座！”他尖锐地说。

“I’m president of the F.

“我是F的主席。

O.

奥。

T.

T。

A.

A.

now, George Minafer, and don’t you forget it!

现在，乔治·米纳弗，你别忘了！

You and Charlie Johnson sit down, because I was elected perfectly fair, and we’re goin’ to hold a meeting here.”

你和查理·约翰逊坐下来，因为我是完全公平地当选的，我们要在这里举行会议。”

“Oh, you are, are you?” said George skeptically.

“哦，你是，是吗？”乔治怀疑地说。

Charlie Johnson thought to mollify him.

查理·约翰逊想安抚他。

“Well, didn’t we call this meeting just especially because you told us to?

“好吧，我们召开这次会议不正是因为你告诉我们的吗？

You said yourself we ought to have a kind of celebration because you’ve got back to town, George, and that’s what we’re here for now, and everything.

你自己说过我们应该庆祝一下，因为你已经回到城里了，乔治，这就是我们现在在这里的目的，以及一切。

What do you care about being president?

当总统你在乎什么？

All it amounts to is just calling the roll and—”

这只不过是点名而已——”

The president _de facto_ hammered the table.

总统实际上敲了桌子。

“This meeting will now proceed to—”

“这次会议现在将进行——”

“No, it won’t,” said George, and he advanced to the desk, laughing contemptuously.

“不，不会的。”乔治说着，走到桌子前，轻蔑地笑道。

“Get off that platform.”

“离开那个站台。”

“This meeting will come to order!” Mr. Kinney commanded fiercely.

“这次会议一定会举行！”金尼先生严厉地命令道。

“You put down that gavel,” said George.

“你放下木槌，”乔治说。

“Whose is it, I’d like to know?

“我想知道，这是谁的？

It belongs to my grandfather, and you quit hammering it that way or you’ll break it, and I’ll have to knock your head off.”

它是我祖父的，你别再用这种方式敲打它，否则你会把它弄坏的，我就得敲掉你的头。”

“This meeting will come to order!

“这次会议一定会召开！

I was legally elected here, and I’m not going to be bulldozed!”

我是在这里合法选举产生的，我不会被推倒！”

“All right,” said Georgie.

“好吧，”乔吉说。

“You’re president.

“你是总统。

Now we’ll hold another election.”

现在我们将举行另一次选举。”

“We will not!” Fred Kinney shouted.

“我们不会！”弗莱德·金尼喊道。

“We’ll have our reg’lar meeting, and then we’ll play euchre & nickel a corner, what we’re here for.

“我们将召开例行会议，然后我们将玩尤克雷和镍币角球，这就是我们来这里的目的。

This meeting will now come to ord—”

这次会议现在开始——”

Georgie addressed the members.

乔治向会员们致辞。

“I’d like to know who got up this thing in the first place,” he said.

“我想知道是谁首先发明了这个东西，”他说。

“Who’s the founder of the F.O.T.A., if you please?

“请问 F.O.T.A. 的创始人是谁？

Who got this room rent free?

谁免租了这个房间？

Who got the janitor to let us have most of this furniture?

谁让看门人让我们拥有大部分家具？

You suppose you could keep this clubroom a minute if I told my grandfather I didn’t want it for a literary club any more?

如果我告诉我祖父我不再想把这个俱乐部当作文学俱乐部了，你认为你可以保留这个俱乐部吗？

I’d like to say a word on how you members been acting, too!

我也想谈谈你们成员的表现！

When I went away I said I didn’t care if you had a _vice_-president or something while I was gone, but here I hardly turned my back and you had to go and elect Fred Kinney president!

当我离开时，我说我不在意你是否有副总统或其他什么，但在这里我几乎没有转身，你必须去选举弗雷德金尼总统！

Well, if that’s what you want, you can have it.

好吧，如果这就是你想要的，你就可以拥有它。

I was going to have a little celebration down here some night pretty soon, and bring some port wine, like we drink at school in our crowd there, and I was going to get my grandfather to give the club an extra room across the hall, and prob’ly I could get my Uncle George to give us his old billiard table, because he’s got a new one, and the club could put it in the other room.

很快某个晚上我要在这里举行一个小庆祝活动，带一些波特酒，就像我们在学校里在人群中喝酒一样，我要让我的祖父在大厅对面给俱乐部一个额外的房间，也许我可以让我的乔治叔叔给我们他的旧台球桌，因为他有一张新的台球桌，俱乐部可以把它放在另一个房间。

Well, you got a new president now!” Here Georgie moved toward the door and his tone became plaintive, though undeniably there was disdain beneath his sorrow.

好吧，现在你有了一位新总统！”乔治朝门口走去，他的语气变得哀伤，但不可否认的是，他的悲伤之下隐藏着蔑视。

“I guess all I better do is—resign!”

“我想我最好做的就是——辞职！”

And he opened the door, apparently intending to withdraw.

而他打开门，显然是打算退出。

“All in favour of having a new election,” Charlie Johnson shouted hastily, “say, ‘Aye’!”

“所有人都赞成举行新的选举，”查理·约翰逊急忙喊道，“说，‘是’！”

“Aye” was said by everyone present except Mr. Kinney, who began a hot protest, but it was immediately smothered.

除了金尼先生之外，在场的所有人都说“是”，他开始了激烈的抗议，但立即就被压制了。

“All in favour of me being president instead of Fred Kinney,” shouted Georgie, “say ‘Aye.’ The ‘Ayes’ have it!” “I resign,” said the red-headed boy, gulping as he descended from the platform.

“所有人都支持我而不是弗雷德·金尼当总统，”乔吉喊道，“说‘同意’。‘同意’的人都同意了！” “我辞职。”红发男孩从讲台上走下来时，吞了吞口水。

“I resign from the club!”

“我从俱乐部辞职！”

Hot-eyed, he found his hat and departed, jeers echoing after him as he plunged down the corridor.

他眼睛发烫，找到帽子就离开了，当他冲下走廊时，嘲笑声在他身后回响。

Georgie stepped upon the platform, and took up the emblem of office.

乔吉走上讲台，拿起办公室徽章。

“Ole red-head Fred’ll be around next week,” said the new chairman.

“红发老弗雷德下周就会来，”新任主席说。

“He’ll be around boot-lickin’ to get us to take him back in again, but I guess we don’t want him: that fellow always was a trouble-maker.

“他会竭尽全力让我们再次把他带回来，但我想我们不想要他：那个家伙总是一个麻烦制造者。

We will now proceed with our meeting.

我们现在继续我们的会议。

Well, fellows, I suppose you want to hear from your president.

好吧，伙计们，我想你们想听听你们总统的意见。

I don’t know that I have much to say, as I have already seen most of you a few times since I got back.

我不知道我有什么话要说，因为自从我回来以来，我已经见过你们大多数人几次了。

I had a good time at the old school, back East, but had a little trouble with the faculty and came on home.

我在东部的老学校度过了一段愉快的时光，但与老师们发生了一些麻烦，然后就回家了。

My family stood by me as well as I could ask, and I expect to stay right here in the old town until whenever I decide to enter college.

我的家人尽我所能地支持我，我希望一直留在老城区，直到我决定上大学。

Now, I don’t suppose there’s any more business before the meeting.

现在，我想会议之前没有更多的事情了。

I guess we might as well play cards.

我想我们不妨打牌。

Anybody that’s game for a little quarter-limit poker or any limit they say, why I’d like to have ’em sit at the president’s card-table.”

任何想玩四分之一限额扑克或他们所说的任何限额的人，为什么我想让他们坐在总统的牌桌上。”

When the diversions of the Friends of the Ace were concluded for that afternoon, Georgie invited his chief supporter, Mr. Charlie Johnson, to drive home with him to dinner, and as they jingled up National Avenue in the dog-cart, Charlie asked:

那天下午，王牌之友的活动结束后，乔吉邀请他的主要支持者查理·约翰逊先生和他一起开车回家吃晚饭，当他们开着马车沿着国家大道叮当作响时，查理问道：

“What sort of men did you run up against at that school, George?”

“乔治，你在那所学校遇到了什么样的人？”

“Best crowd there: finest set of men I ever met.”

“那里有最好的人群：我见过的最优秀的人。”

“How’d you get in with ’em?”

“你是怎么跟他们混在一起的？”

Georgie laughed.

乔吉笑了。

“I let them get in with me, Charlie,” he said in a tone of gentle explanation.

“我让他们和我一起进来，查理，”他用温和的解释语气说道。

“It’s vulgar to do any other way.

“采取任何其他方式都是粗俗的。

Did I tell you the nickname they gave me—‘King’?

我有没有告诉过你他们给我起的绰号——“国王”？

That was what they called me at that school, ‘King Minafer.”

那所学校的人就是这样称呼我的，“米纳弗国王”。

“How’d they happen to do that?” his friend asked innocently.

“他们怎么会这么做？”他的朋友天真地问道。

“Oh, different things,” George answered lightly.

“哦，不同的事情，”乔治轻声回答。

“Of course, any of ’em that came from anywhere out in this part the country knew about the family and all that, and so I suppose it was a good deal on account of—oh, on account of the family and the way I do things, most likely.”

“当然，他们中的任何一个来自这个国家任何地方的人都知道这个家庭和所有这些，所以我认为这是一笔很好的交易，因为——哦，很可能是因为我的家庭和我做事的方式。”

Chapter IV

第四章

When Mr. George Amberson Minafer came home for the holidays at Christmastide, in his sophomore year, probably no great change had taken place inside him, but his exterior was visibly altered.

当乔治·安伯森·米纳弗先生在圣诞节期间回家过节时，也就是大二的时候，他的内心可能没有发生很大的变化，但他的外表却发生了明显的变化。

Nothing about him encouraged any hope that he had received his come-upance; on the contrary, the yearners for that stroke of justice must yearn even more itchingly: the gilded youth’s manner had become polite, but his politeness was of a kind which democratic people found hard to bear.

他身上没有任何迹象表明他已经得到了报应。相反，渴望正义之举的人一定更加渴望：镀金青年的举止变得彬彬有礼，但他的彬彬有礼却是民主人民难以忍受的。

In a word, M.

一句话，M.

le Due had returned from the gay life of the capital to show himself for a week among the loyal peasants belonging to the old chateau, and their quaint habits and costumes afforded him a mild amusement.

勒杜从首都的快乐生活归来，在古老城堡的忠诚农民中间待了一个星期，他们古朴的习惯和服装给他带来了一丝乐趣。

Cards were out for a ball in his honour, and this pageant of the tenantry was held in the ballroom of the Amberson Mansion the night after his arrival.

为了纪念他，人们准备举办一场舞会，这场佃户盛会在他抵达后的第二天晚上在安伯森大厦的舞厅举行。

It was, as Mrs. Henry Franklin Foster said of Isabel’s wedding, “a big Amberson-style thing,” though that wise Mrs. Henry Franklin Foster had long ago gone the way of all wisdom, having stepped out of the Midland town, unquestionably into heaven—a long step, but not beyond her powers.

正如亨利·富兰克林·福斯特夫人在谈到伊莎贝尔的婚礼时所说的那样，这是“一场安伯森式的大事”，尽管明智的亨利·富兰克林·福斯特夫人早已走上了所有智慧的道路，走出了米德兰小镇，毫无疑问进入了天堂——迈出了一大步，但并未超出她的能力范围。

She had successors, but no successor; the town having grown too large to confess that it was intellectually led and literarily authoritated by one person; and some of these successors were not invited to the ball, for dimensions were now so metropolitan that intellectual leaders and literary authorities loomed in outlying regions unfamiliar to the Ambersons.

她有后继者，却没有后继者；这座城镇已经变得太大，以至于无法承认它是由一个人在思想上领导和文学上权威的；其中一些继任者没有被邀请参加舞会，因为现在的大都市规模如此之大，以至于知识领袖和文学权威都出现在安伯森家族不熟悉的边远地区。

However, all “old citizens” recognizable as gentry received cards, and of course so did their dancing descendants.

然而，所有被认为是士绅的“老公民”都收到了卡片，当然，他们的舞蹈后代也收到了卡片。

The orchestra and the caterer were brought from away, in the Amberson manner, though this was really a gesture—perhaps one more of habit than of ostentation—for servitors of gaiety as proficient as these importations were nowadays to be found in the town.

管弦乐队和宴会承办人是从远处带来的，以安伯森的方式，尽管这实际上是一种姿态——也许更多的是一种习惯而不是炫耀——对于像现在在镇上找到的这些输入一样熟练的欢乐仆人来说。

Even flowers and plants and roped vines were brought from afar—not, however, until the stock of the local florists proved insufficient to obliterate the interior structure of the big house, in the Amberson way.

甚至连鲜花、植物和绳状藤蔓都是从远处带来的——然而，直到事实证明当地花店的存货不足以按照安伯森的方式消除大房子的内部结构。

It was the last of the great, long remembered dances that “everybody talked about”—there were getting to be so many people in town that no later than the next year there were too many for “everybody” to hear of even such a ball as the Ambersons’.

这是“每个人都在谈论”的那些伟大的、长久以来被人们铭记的舞蹈中的最后一场——镇上的人越来越多，到了明年，“每个人”都会有太多人甚至无法听到安伯森舞会这样的舞会。

George, white-gloved, with a gardenia in his buttonhole, stood with his mother and the Major, embowered in the big red and gold drawing room downstairs, to “receive” the guests; and, standing thus together, the trio offered a picturesque example of good looks persistent through three generations.

乔治戴着白手套，纽扣孔里插着一朵栀子花，与他的母亲和少校一起站在楼下红金相间的大客厅里“接待”客人；三人就这样站在一起，为三代人的美丽容貌提供了一个生动的例子。

The Major, his daughter, and his grandson were of a type all Amberson: tall, straight, and regular, with dark eyes, short noses, good chins; and the grandfather’s expression, no less than the grandson’s, was one of faintly amused condescension.

少校、他的女儿和他的孙子都属于安伯森家族的典型：高大、笔直、规矩，有黑眼睛、短鼻子和漂亮的下巴；祖父的表情不亚于孙子，带着一种略带好笑的居高临下的表情。

There was a difference, however.

然而，还是有区别的。

The grandson’s unlined young face had nothing to offer except this condescension; the grandfather’s had other things to say.

孙子那张毫无皱纹的年轻脸上，除了这种居高临下的表情之外，再无其他表现。祖父还有其他话要说。

It was a handsome, worldly old face, conscious of its importance, but persuasive rather than arrogant, and not without tokens of sufferings withstood.

这是一张英俊、世俗的老面孔，意识到自己的重要性，但有说服力而不是傲慢，而且不乏经受痛苦的迹象。

The Major’s short white hair was parted in the middle, like his grandson’s, and in all he stood as briskly equipped to the fashion as exquisite young George.

少校的白色短发从中间分开，就像他孙子的头发一样，总而言之，他站起来就像精致的年轻乔治一样，敏捷地适应了时尚。

Isabel, standing between her father and her son caused a vague amazement in the mind of the latter.

伊莎贝尔站在她父亲和儿子之间，让后者心里隐约感到惊讶。

Her age, just under forty, was for George a thought of something as remote as the moons of Jupiter: he could not possibly have conceived such an age ever coming to be his own: five years was the limit of his thinking in time.

她的年龄还不到四十岁，对于乔治来说，这是一个像木星卫星一样遥远的想法：他不可能想象自己会达到这样的年龄：五年是他思考时间的极限。

Five years ago he had been a child not yet fourteen; and those five years were an abyss.

五年前，他还是一个不满十四岁的孩子；那五年是一个深渊。

Five years hence he would be almost twenty-four; what the girls he knew called “one of the older men.” He could imagine himself at twenty-four, but beyond that, his powers staggered and refused the task.

五年后，他就快二十四岁了。他认识的女孩们称之为“一位年长的男人”。他可以想象自己二十四岁，但除此之外，他的力量开始摇摇欲坠，拒绝了这项任务。

He saw little essential difference between thirty-eight and eighty-eight, and his mother was to him not a woman but wholly a mother.

他看不出三十八岁和八十八岁之间有什么本质区别，而他的母亲对他来说不是一个女人，而完全是一个母亲。

He had no perception of her other than as an adjunct to himself, his mother; nor could he imagine her thinking or doing anything—falling in love, walking with a friend, or reading a book—as a woman, and not as his mother.

他对她的看法只是将她视为他自己、他母亲的附属物。他也无法想象她作为一个女人而不是他的母亲在思考或做任何事情——坠入爱河、与朋友散步或读书。

The woman, Isabel, was a stranger to her son; as completely a stranger as if he had never in his life seen her or heard her voice.

这个名叫伊莎贝尔的女人对她的儿子来说是个陌生人。完全是一个陌生人，就好像他这辈子从来没有见过她，也没有听过她的声音。

And it was to-night, while he stood with her, “receiving,” that he caught a disquieting glimpse of this stranger whom he thus fleetingly encountered for the first time.

就在今天晚上，当他和她站在一起“接待”时，他不安地瞥见了这个他第一次短暂遇到的陌生人。

Youth cannot imagine romance apart from youth.

离开青春，青春就无法想象浪漫。

That is why the rôles of the heroes and heroines of plays are given by the managers to the most youthful actors they can find among the competent.

这就是为什么戏剧的男女主人公的角色由经理们安排给他们在有能力的演员中找到的最年轻的演员。

Both middle-aged people and young people enjoy a play about young lovers; but only middle-aged people will tolerate a play about middle-aged lovers; young people will not come to see such a play, because, for them, middle-aged lovers are a joke—not a very funny one.

中年人和年轻人都喜欢看小情侣的戏；但只有中年人才会容忍中年情侣的戏；年轻人不会来看这样的戏，因为对他们来说，中年恋人就是一个笑话——不是一个很好笑的笑话。

Therefore, to bring both the middle-aged people and the young people into his house, the manager makes his romance as young as he can.

因此，为了让中年人和年轻人都进入他的房子，经理让他的浪漫尽可能年轻。

Youth will indeed be served, and its profound instinct is to be not only scornfully amused but vaguely angered by middle-age romance.

年轻人确实会受到服务，其深刻的本能不仅是对中年的浪漫感到轻蔑的好笑，而且隐隐约约地感到愤怒。

So, standing beside his mother, George was disturbed by a sudden impression, coming upon him out of nowhere, so far as he could detect, that her eyes were brilliant, that she was graceful and youthful—in a word, that she was romantically lovely.

于是，站在母亲身边，乔治突然被一种不知从何而来的印象所困扰，据他所知，她的眼睛明亮，她优雅而年轻——总之，她浪漫可爱。

He had one of those curious moments that seem to have neither a cause nor any connection with actual things.

他有过一种奇怪的时刻，似乎既没有原因，也与实际事物没有任何联系。

While it lasted, he was disquieted not by thoughts—for he had no definite thoughts—but by a slight emotion like that caused in a dream by the presence of something invisible, soundless, and yet fantastic.

当它持续时，他感到不安的不是思想——因为他没有明确的思想——而是因为一种轻微的情绪，就像在梦中由某种看不见、无声却又奇妙的东西的存在所引起的那样。

There was nothing different or new about his mother, except her new black and silver dress: she was standing there beside him, bending her head a little in her greetings, smiling the same smile she had worn for the half-hour that people had been passing the “receiving” group.

他的母亲没有什么不同或新鲜的地方，除了她那件新的黑色和银色衣服：她站在他旁边，微微低着头打招呼，微笑着，就像人们经过“接待”人群的半个小时一样。

Her face was flushed, but the room was warm; and shaking hands with so many people easily accounted for the pretty glow that was upon her.

她的脸涨得通红，但房间里很暖和。与这么多人握手很容易解释她身上美丽的光芒。

At any time she could have “passed” for twenty-five or twenty-six—a man of fifty would have honestly guessed her to be about thirty but possibly two or three years younger—and though extraordinary in this, she had been extraordinary in it for years.

任何时候她都可能“被认为”是二十五岁或二十六岁——一个五十岁的男人会诚实地猜测她大约三十岁，但可能年轻两三岁——虽然在这方面很非凡，但她多年来一直在这方面表现非凡。

There was nothing in either her looks or her manner to explain George’s uncomfortable feeling; and yet it increased, becoming suddenly a vague resentment, as if she had done something unmotherly to him.

无论是她的外表还是她的举止都无法解释乔治的不舒服的感觉。然而这种感觉却越来越强烈，突然变成了一种模糊的怨恨，仿佛她对他做了一些不具母性的事情。

The fantastic moment passed; and even while it lasted, he was doing his duty, greeting two pretty girls with whom he had grown up, as people say, and warmly assuring them that he remembered them very well—an assurance which might have surprised them “in anybody but Georgie Minafer!” It seemed unnecessary, since he had spent many hours with them no longer ago than the preceding August.

美妙的时刻过去了；即使在这段时间里，他也在履行自己的职责，像人们所说的那样，向两个和他一起长大的漂亮女孩打招呼，并热情地向她们保证，他记得很清楚——这一保证可能会让他们感到惊讶，“除了乔吉·米纳弗之外！”这似乎没有必要，因为就在去年八月之前，他已经和他们一起度过了很多个小时。

They had with them their parents and an uncle from out of town; and George negligently gave the parents the same assurance he had given the daughters, but murmured another form of greeting to the out-of-town uncle, whom he had never seen before.

和他们在一起的还有父母和一位从外地来的叔叔。乔治漫不经心地向这对父母做出了与女儿们相同的保证，但他却低声向这位他从未见过的外地叔叔打了招呼。

This person George absently took note of as a “queer-looking duck.” Undergraduates had not yet adopted “bird.” It was a period previous to that in which a sophomore would have thought of the Sharon girls’ uncle as a “queer-looking bird,” or, perhaps a “funny-face bird.” In George’s time, every human male was to be defined, at pleasure, as a “duck”; but “duck” was not spoken with admiring affection, as in its former feminine use to signify a “dear”—on the contrary, “duck” implied the speaker’s personal detachment and humorous superiority.

乔治心不在焉地注意到这个人是一只“长相奇怪的鸭子”。本科生还没有采用“鸟”。在那之前的一段时期，大二学生会把莎伦女孩的叔叔视为“长相怪异的鸟”，或者，也许是“长相滑稽的鸟”。在乔治时代，每个人类男性都可以随意地被定义为“鸭子”；但“duck”一词的表达方式并不像以前的女性用法那样表示“亲爱的”，而是带着钦佩的感情——相反，“duck”暗示了说话者个人的超然和幽默的优越感。

An indifferent amusement was what George felt when his mother, with a gentle emphasis, interrupted his interchange of courtesies with the nieces to present him to the queer-looking duck, their uncle.

当乔治的母亲打断他与侄女们的客套话，把他介绍给他们的叔叔，那只长相怪异的鸭子时，乔治感到一种冷漠的娱乐。

This emphasis of Isabel’s, though slight, enabled George to perceive that she considered the queer-looking duck a person of some importance; but it was far from enabling him to understand why.

伊莎贝尔的这种强调虽然很轻微，但使乔治意识到她认为这只长相奇怪的鸭子是一个重要的人。但这还远远不能让他明白其中的原因。

The duck parted his thick and longish black hair on the side; his tie was a forgetful looking thing, and his coat, though it fitted a good enough middle-aged figure, no product of this year, or of last year either.

鸭子把浓密又长的黑毛分到一边；他的领带看起来很健忘，而他的外套虽然很适合中年人的身材，但既不是今年的产品，也不是去年的产品。

One of his eyebrows was noticeably higher than the other; and there were whimsical lines between them, which gave him an apprehensive expression; but his apprehensions were evidently more humorous than profound, for his prevailing look was that of a genial man of affairs, not much afraid of anything whatever.

他的一根眉毛明显比另一根眉毛高。它们之间有一些异想天开的线条，这让他露出一种忧虑的表情。但他的忧虑显然与其说是深刻的，不如说是幽默的，因为他看上去是一个和蔼可亲的实干家，什么都不怕。

Nevertheless, observing only his unfashionable hair, his eyebrows, his preoccupied tie and his old coat, the olympic George set him down as a queer-looking duck, and having thus completed his portrait, took no interest in him.

然而，奥林匹克乔治只注意到他不合时宜的头发、眉毛、心事重重的领带和旧外套，把他当作一只长相怪异的鸭子，在完成了他的肖像后，对他不感兴趣。

The Sharon girls passed on, taking the queer-looking duck with them, and George became pink with mortification as his mother called his attention to a white-bearded guest waiting to shake his hand.

莎伦家的女孩们带着这只奇形怪状的鸭子走了过去，当乔治的母亲提醒他注意一位等待与他握手的白胡子客人时，乔治羞得满脸通红。

This was George’s great-uncle, old John Minafer: it was old John’s boast that in spite of his connection by marriage with the Ambersons, he never had worn and never would wear a swaller-tail coat.

这是乔治的叔祖父，老约翰·米纳弗：老约翰夸口说，尽管他与安伯森一家有姻亲关系，但他从来没有穿过、也永远不会穿一件燕尾大衣。

Members of his family had exerted their influence uselessly—at eighty-nine conservative people seldom form radical new habits, and old John wore his “Sunday suit” of black broadcloth to the Amberson ball.

他的家人毫无用处地发挥了他们的影响力——八十九岁的保守派很少养成激进的新习惯，老约翰穿着他的黑色绒布“周日套装”参加安伯森舞会。

The coat was square, with skirts to the knees; old John called it a “Prince Albert” and was well enough pleased with it, but his great-nephew considered it the next thing to an insult.

外套是方形的，裙子长及膝盖；老约翰称其为“阿尔伯特亲王”，对此非常满意，但他的侄孙认为这简直就是一种侮辱。

George’s purpose had been to ignore the man, but he had to take his hand for a moment; whereupon old John began to tell George that he was looking well, though there had been a time, during his fourth month, when he was so puny that nobody thought he would live.

乔治本想无视这个人，但他不得不暂时握住他的手；于是老约翰开始告诉乔治，他看起来很好，尽管在他第四个月的时候，有一段时间，他是如此的弱小，没有人认为他能活下去。

The great-nephew, in a fury of blushes, dropped old John’s hand with some vigour, and seized that of the next person in the line.

曾侄子气得满脸通红，用力地松开了老约翰的手，抓住了队伍中下一个人的手。

“Member you v’ry well ’ndeed!” he said fiercely.

“会员你真的很好！”他恶狠狠地说。

The large room had filled, and so had the broad hall and the rooms on the other side of the hall, where there were tables for whist.

大房间已经挤满了人，宽阔的大厅和大厅另一边的房间也挤满了人，那里摆着惠斯特牌桌。

The imported orchestra waited in the ballroom on the third floor, but a local harp, ’cello, violin, and flute were playing airs from “The Fencing Master” in the hall, and people were shouting over the music.

进口乐团在三楼的宴会厅等候，大厅里却有当地的竖琴、大提琴、小提琴、长笛演奏着《击剑大师》的曲调，人们的叫喊声盖过音乐声。

Old John Minafer’s voice was louder and more penetrating than any other, because he had been troubled with deafness for twenty-five years, heard his own voice but faintly, and liked to hear it.

老约翰·米纳弗的声音比任何人都响亮、更有穿透力，因为他二十五年来一直受耳聋的困扰，听到自己的声音，但微弱，而且喜欢听。

“Smell o’ flowers like this always puts me in mind o’ funerals,” he kept telling his niece, Fanny Minafer, who was with him; and he seemed to get a great deal of satisfaction out of this reminder.

“这样的花香总是让我想起葬礼，”他​​不断地告诉和他在一起的侄女范妮·米纳弗（Fanny Minafer）；他似乎从这个提醒中得到了很大的满足。

His tremulous yet strident voice cut through the voluminous sound that filled the room, and he was heard everywhere: “Always got to think o’ funerals when I smell so many flowers!” And, as the pressure of people forced Fanny and himself against the white marble mantelpiece, he pursued this train of cheery thought, shouting, “Right here’s where the Major’s wife was laid out at her funeral.

他颤抖而刺耳的声音划破了房间里的喧闹声，到处都能听到他的声音：“当我闻到这么多花香时，总是想起葬礼！”当人们的压力迫使范妮和他自己靠在白色大理石壁炉架上时，他继续着这一系列愉快的想法，喊道：“这里就是少校妻子葬礼上躺着的地方。

They had her in a good light from that big bow window.” He paused to chuckle mournfully.

他们从那个大凸窗里让她处于良好的光线下。”他停下来悲伤地笑了笑。

“I s’pose that’s where they’ll put the Major when his time comes.”

“我猜少校到了时候他们会把他安置在那里。”

Presently George’s mortification was increased to hear this sawmill droning harshly from the midst of the thickening crowd: “Ain’t the dancin’ broke out yet, Fanny?

不久，听到锯木厂在拥挤的人群中发出刺耳的嗡嗡声，乔治更加感到羞愧：“舞会还没开始吗，范妮？

Hoopla!

呼啦啦！

Le’s push through and go see the young women-folks crack their heels!

让我们冲过去，看看年轻女性们的脚后跟开裂！

Start the circus!

开始马戏表演！

Hoopse-daisy!” Miss Fanny Minafer, in charge of the lively veteran, was almost as distressed as her nephew George, but she did her duty and managed to get old John through the press and out to the broad stairway, which numbers of young people were now ascending to the ballroom.

环状雏菊！”负责这位活泼的老兵的范妮·米纳弗小姐几乎和她的侄子乔治一样苦恼，但她尽了自己的职责，设法让老约翰穿过媒体，来到宽阔的楼梯上，现在有许多年轻人正登上舞厅。

And here the sawmill voice still rose over all others: “Solid black walnut every inch of it, balustrades and all.

在这里，锯木厂的声音仍然高过其他人：“每一寸都是实心黑胡桃木，栏杆等等。

Sixty thousand dollars’ worth o’ carved woodwork in the house!

屋里的木雕价值六万美元！

Like water!

像水一样！

Spent money like water!

花钱如流水！

Always did!

一直都是这样！

Still do!

还是做吧！

Like water!

像水一样！

God knows where it all comes from!”

天知道这一切从何而来！”

He continued the ascent, barking and coughing among the gleaming young heads, white shoulders, jewels, and chiffon, like an old dog slowly swimming up the rapids of a sparkling river; while down below, in the drawing room, George began to recover from the degradation into which this relic of early settler days had dragged him.

他继续上升，在闪闪发光的年轻脑袋、白色肩膀、珠宝和雪纺之间吠叫和咳嗽，就像一条老狗在波光粼粼的河流的急流中慢慢游动；而在下面的客厅里，乔治开始从早期定居者时代的遗迹拖累他的堕落中恢复过来。

What restored him completely was a dark-eyed little beauty of nineteen, very knowing in lustrous blue and jet; at sight of this dashing advent in the line of guests before him, George was fully an Amberson again.

让他彻底恢复活力的是一位十九岁的黑眼睛小美人，她穿着闪亮的蓝色和墨色衣服，非常懂事。看到面前宾客队伍中这位潇洒的出现，乔治又完全变成了安伯森家族的一员。

“Remember you very well _indeed!_” he said, his graciousness more earnest than any he had heretofore displayed.

“确实记得你！”他说，他的仁慈比他迄今为止所表现出的任何人都更加真诚。

Isabel heard him and laughed.

伊莎贝尔听到他笑了。

“But you don’t, George!” she said.

“但你不知道，乔治！”她说。

“You don’t remember her yet, though of course you _will!_ Miss Morgan is from out of town, and I’m afraid this is the first time you’ve ever seen her.

“你还不记得她，不过你当然会记得！摩根小姐来自外地，恐怕这是你第一次见到她。

You might take her up to the dancing; I think you’ve pretty well done your duty here.”

你可以带她去跳舞；我认为你在这里很好地履行了你的职责。”

“Be d’lighted,” George responded formally, and offered his arm, not with a flourish, certainly, but with an impressiveness inspired partly by the appearance of the person to whom he offered it, partly by his being the hero of this fête, and partly by his youthfulness—for when manners are new they are apt to be elaborate.

“请放心，”乔治正式回应道，并伸出了手臂，当然，他的手臂并不是夸张的，而是令人印象深刻，部分原因是他伸出手臂的人的外表，部分原因是他是这场盛宴的英雄，部分原因是他年轻——因为当礼仪是新的时，他们往往会变得复杂。

The little beauty entrusted her gloved fingers to his coat-sleeve, and they moved away together.

小美女将戴着手套的手指放在他的衣袖上，两人一起走开。

Their progress was necessarily slow, and to George’s mind it did not lack stateliness.

他们的进展必然是缓慢的，而在乔治看来，这并不缺乏庄严。

How could it?

怎么可能呢？

Musicians, hired especially for him, were sitting in a grove of palms in the hall and now tenderly playing “Oh, Promise Me” for his pleasuring; dozens and scores of flowers had been brought to life and tended to this hour that they might sweeten the air for him while they died; and the evanescent power that music and floral scents hold over youth stirred his appreciation of strange, beautiful qualities within his own bosom: he seemed to himself to be mysteriously angelic, and about to do something which would overwhelm the beautiful young stranger upon his arm.

专为他聘请的音乐家们坐在大厅的棕榈树林里，温柔地演奏着《哦，答应我》以取悦他；几十朵花都被赋予了生命，它们在这个时刻被赋予了生命，以便它们在它们死去时可以为他增添甜蜜的空气。音乐和花香对青春的转瞬即逝的力量激起了他对自己内心奇异而美丽的品质的欣赏：他自己似乎是神秘的天使，即将做出一些事情来压倒他手臂上美丽的年轻陌生人。

Elderly people and middle-aged people moved away to let him pass with his honoured fair beside him.

老人们和中年人纷纷退开让他过去，尊者也在他身边。

Worthy middle-class creatures, they seemed, leading dull lives but appreciative of better things when they saw them—and George’s bosom was fleetingly touched with a pitying kindness.

他们看起来都是值得尊敬的中产阶级，过着平淡的生活，但看到美好的事物却心存感激——乔治的胸口瞬间被一种怜悯的善意触动。

And since the primordial day when caste or heritage first set one person, in his own esteem, above his fellow-beings, it is to be doubted if anybody ever felt more illustrious, or more negligently grand, than George Amberson Minafer felt at this party.

自从种姓或传统第一次使一个人在他自己的尊重中高于他的同胞的原始时代以来，值得怀疑的是，是否有人比乔治·安伯森·米纳弗在这次聚会上感受到的更显赫，或更不经意的伟大。

As he conducted Miss Morgan through the hall, toward the stairway, they passed the open double doors of a card room, where some squadrons of older people were preparing for action, and, leaning gracefully upon the mantelpiece of this room, a tall man, handsome, high-mannered, and sparklingly point-device, held laughing converse with that queer-looking duck, the Sharon girls’ uncle.

当他领着摩根小姐穿过大厅，走向楼梯时，他们经过了一间棋牌室敞开的双门，那里有几队老年人正在准备行动，一个高大的男人优雅地倚在房间的壁炉架上，英俊、彬彬有礼、闪闪发光的尖头装置，正在与那只长相古怪的鸭子、莎伦女孩的叔叔谈笑风生。

The tall gentleman waved a gracious salutation to George, and Miss Morgan’s curiosity was stirred.

高个子绅士向乔治挥手致意，摩根小姐的好奇心被勾了起来。

“Who is that?”

“那是谁？”

“I didn’t catch his name when my mother presented him to me,” said George.

“当我母亲把他介绍给我时，我没听清他的名字，”乔治说。

“You mean the queer-looking duck.”

“你是说那只长相奇怪的鸭子。”

“I mean the aristocratic duck.”

“我是说贵族鸭子。”

“That’s my Uncle George.

“那是我的乔治叔叔。

Honourable George Amberson.

尊敬的乔治·安伯森。

I thought everybody knew him.”

我以为每个人都认识他。”

“He looks as though everybody ought to know him,” she said.

“他看起来好像每个人都应该认识他，”她说。

“It seems to run in your family.”

“这似乎是你家族的遗传。”

If she had any sly intention, it skipped over George harmlessly.

如果她有任何狡猾的意图，它也会无害地跳过乔治。

“Well, of course, I suppose most everybody does,” he admitted—“out in this part of the country especially.

“嗯，当然，我想大多数人都这样做，”他承认，“尤其是在这个国家的这个地区。

Besides, Uncle George is in Congress; the family like to have someone there.”

此外，乔治叔叔在国会；家人喜欢有人在那里。”

“Why?”

“为什么？”

“Well, it’s sort of a good thing in one way.

“嗯，从某种意义上来说，这是一件好事。

For instance, my Uncle Sydney Amberson and his wife, Aunt Amelia, they haven’t got much of anything to do with themselves—get bored to death around here, of course.

例如，我的叔叔西德尼·安伯森（Sydney Amberson）和他的妻子阿米莉亚阿姨（Aunt Amelia），他们与自己没有太多关系——当然，他们在这里无聊得要死。

Well, probably Uncle George’ll have Uncle Sydney appointed minister or ambassador, or something like that, to Russia or Italy or somewhere, and that’ll make it pleasant when any of the rest of the family go travelling, or things like that.

嗯，乔治叔叔可能会任命悉尼叔叔为部长或大使，或类似的职务，去俄罗斯或意大利或其他地方，这样当家里的其他人去旅行或类似的事情时，这会让他感到愉快。

I expect to do a good deal of travelling myself when I get out of college.”

我希望大学毕业后能够自己去旅行很多次。”

On the stairway he pointed out this prospective ambassadorial couple, Sydney and Amelia.

在楼梯上，他指着这对未来的大使夫妇，悉尼和阿米莉亚。

They were coming down, fronting the ascending tide, and as conspicuous over it as a king and queen in a play.

他们迎着上涨的潮水而下，就像戏剧中的国王和王后一样引人注目。

Moreover, as the clear-eyed Miss Morgan remarked, the very least they looked was ambassadorial.

而且，正如目光敏锐的摩根小姐所言，她们至少看上去就是大使般的存在。

Sydney was an Amberson exaggerated, more pompous than gracious; too portly, flushed, starched to a shine, his stately jowl furnished with an Edward the Seventh beard.

西德尼是一个夸张的安伯森，更加浮夸而不是仁慈。他太胖了，脸色通红，笔挺得发亮，庄严的下巴上长着爱德华七世的胡子。

Amelia, likewise full-bodied, showed glittering blond hair exuberantly dressed; a pink, fat face cold under a white-hot tiara; a solid, cold bosom under a white-hot necklace; great, cold, gloved arms, and the rest of her beautifully upholstered.

阿米莉亚同样身材丰满，金发闪闪发光，衣着华丽。一张粉红色的胖脸在白热的王冠下显得冰冷；白热化的项链下是坚实冰冷的胸膛；戴着手套、冰冷的大手臂，以及她其余部分的精美软垫。

Amelia was an Amberson born, herself, Sydney’s second-cousin: they had no children, and Sydney was without a business or a profession; thus both found a great deal of time to think about the appropriateness of their becoming Excellencies.

阿米莉亚是安伯森出生的人，她自己是西德尼的二表弟：他们没有孩子，西德尼没有生意或职业；他们没有孩子。因此，两人都有大量的时间来思考自己成为阁下的适当性。

And as George ascended the broad stairway, they were precisely the aunt and uncle he was most pleased to point out, to a girl from out of town, as his appurtenances in the way of relatives.

当乔治登上宽阔的楼梯时，他们正是他最乐意向一位外地女孩指出的姑妈和叔叔，就像他的亲戚一样。

At sight of them the grandeur of the Amberson family was instantly conspicuous as a permanent thing: it was impossible to doubt that the Ambersons were entrenched, in their nobility and riches, behind polished and glittering barriers which were as solid as they were brilliant, and would last.

一看到他们，安伯森家族的宏伟就立刻显露出来，就像永恒的事物一样：毫无疑问，安伯森家族以其高贵和财富而根深蒂固，在抛光和闪闪发光的屏障后面，这些屏障既坚固又辉煌，并且将持续下去。

Chapter V

第五章

The hero of the fête, with the dark-eyed little beauty upon his arm, reached the top of the second flight of stairs; and here, beyond a spacious landing, where two proud-like darkies tended a crystalline punch bowl, four wide archways in a rose-vine lattice framed gliding silhouettes of waltzers, already smoothly at it to the castanets of “_La Paloma_.” Old John Minafer, evidently surfeited, was in the act of leaving these delights.

宴会的英雄，胳膊上挽着黑眼睛的小美女，登上了第二层楼梯的顶端。在这里，在一个宽敞的平台之外，两个骄傲的黑人照料着一个水晶潘趣酒碗，四个宽阔的拱门在玫瑰藤格子框架中滑行的华尔兹轮廓，已经顺利地到达了“_La Paloma_”的响板。老约翰·米纳弗显然已经厌倦了，正准备离开这些快乐。

“D’want ’ny more o’ that!” he barked.

“我不想再这样了！”他咆哮道。

“Just slidin’ around!

“只是滑行而已！

Call that dancin’?

这叫跳舞吗？

Rather see a jig any day in the world!

宁愿在世界上任何一天看到吉格！

They ain’t very modest, some of ’em.

他们中的一些人并不十分谦虚。

I don’t mind _that_, though.

不过我不介意。

Not me!”

不是我！”

Miss Fanny Minafer was no longer in charge of him: he emerged from the ballroom escorted by a middle-aged man of commonplace appearance.

范妮·米纳弗小姐不再管他：他在一位相貌平凡的中年男子的护送下走出舞厅。

The escort had a dry, lined face upon which, not ornamentally but as a matter of course, there grew a business man’s short moustache; and his thin neck showed an Adam’s apple, but not conspicuously, for there was nothing conspicuous about him.

护卫的脸干燥，布满皱纹，脸上长着商人的短胡子，这不是装饰性的，而是理所当然的。他细细的脖子上有喉结，但并不显眼，因为他身上没有什么引人注目的地方。

Baldish, dim, quiet, he was an unnoticeable part of this festival, and although there were a dozen or more middle-aged men present, not casually to be distinguished from him in general aspect, he was probably the last person in the big house at whom a stranger would have glanced twice.

秃顶、昏暗、安静，他在这个节日中是一个不起眼的部分，虽然在场的有十几位中年男子，总体上不轻易与他区分开来，但他可能是大房子里最后一个陌生人会多看两眼的人。

It did not enter George’s mind to mention to Miss Morgan that this was his father, or to say anything whatever about him.

乔治没有想到要向摩根小姐提及这是他的父亲，或者说任何关于他的事情。

Mr. Minafer shook his son’s hand unobtrusively in passing.

米纳弗先生路过时低调地与儿子握手。

“I’ll take Uncle John home,” he said, in a low voice.

“我会带约翰叔叔回家，”他低声说道。

“Then I guess I’ll go on home myself—I’m not a great hand at parties, you know.

“那我想我自己就回家了——你知道，我不擅长参加聚会。

Good-night, George.”

晚安，乔治。”

George murmured a friendly enough good-night without pausing.

乔治不停地低声说了声足够友好的晚安。

Ordinarily he was not ashamed of the Minafers; he seldom thought about them at all, for he belonged, as most American children do, to the mother’s family—but he was anxious not to linger with Miss Morgan in the vicinity of old John, whom he felt to be a disgrace.

平时他并不为米纳弗家族感到羞耻。他很少想到他们，因为像大多数美国孩子一样，他属于母亲的家庭——但他不想和摩根小姐一起在老约翰身边逗留，他觉得老约翰是一种耻辱。

He pushed brusquely through the fringe of calculating youths who were gathered in the arches, watching for chances to dance only with girls who would soon be taken off their hands, and led his stranger lady out upon the floor.

他粗鲁地推开聚集在拱门里的精于算计的年轻人的边缘，寻找机会只与那些很快就会被夺走的女孩跳舞，然后把他的陌生女士带到地板上。

They caught the time instantly, and were away in the waltz.

他们立刻抓住了时间，跳起了华尔兹。

George danced well, and Miss Morgan seemed to float as part of the music, the very dove itself of “_La Paloma_.” They said nothing as they danced; her eyes were cast down all the while—the prettiest gesture for a dancer—and there was left in the universe, for each, of them, only their companionship in this waltz; while the faces of the other dancers, swimming by, denoted not people but merely blurs of colour.

乔治跳得很好，摩根小姐似乎作为音乐的一部分漂浮着，就像“_La Paloma_”的鸽子本身一样。他们跳舞时什么也没说。她的眼睛一直低垂着——对于舞者来说这是最美丽的姿态——而宇宙中，对他们每个人来说，只剩下他们在这支华尔兹中的陪伴；而其他舞者的面孔则游过，所指的不是人，而是模糊的色彩。

George became conscious of strange feelings within him: an exaltation of soul, tender, but indefinite, and seemingly located in the upper part of his diaphragm.

乔治意识到自己内心有一种奇怪的感觉：一种灵魂的亢奋，温柔但不确定，似乎位于横膈膜的上部。

The stopping of the music came upon him like the waking to an alarm clock; for instantly six or seven of the calculating persons about the entry-ways bore down upon Miss Morgan to secure dances.

音乐停止了，他感觉就像被闹钟叫醒一样。入口处立即有六七个精于算计的人向摩根小姐逼近，要求跳舞。

George had to do with one already established as a belle, it seemed.

乔治似乎与一位已经成为美女的人有关。

“Give me the next and the one after that,” he said hurriedly, recovering some presence of mind, just as the nearest applicant reached them.

“给我下一个，再下一个，”当最近的申请人到达他们身边时，他急忙说道，恢复了一些平静。

“And give me every third one the rest of the evening.”

“晚上剩下的时间里，每三分之一给我一次。”

She laughed.

她笑了。

“Are you asking?”

“你在问吗？”

“What do you mean, ‘asking’?”

“‘问’是什么意思？”

“It sounded as though you were just telling me to give you all those dances.”

“听起来好像你只是在告诉我给你跳所有这些舞蹈。”

“Well, I want ’em!” George insisted.

“好吧，我想要它们！”乔治坚持说。

“What about all the other girls it’s your duty to dance with?”

“那你有义务和其他女孩跳舞呢？”

“They’ll have to go without,” he said heartlessly; and then, with surprising vehemence: “Here!

“他们将不得不放弃，”他无情地说。然后，以令人惊讶的热情：“这里！

I want to know: Are you going to give me those—”

我想知道：你会给我那些——”

“Good gracious!” she laughed.

“天哪！”她笑了。

“Yes!”

“是的！”

The applicants flocked round her, urging contracts for what remained, but they did not dislodge George from her side, though he made it evident that they succeeded in annoying him; and presently he extricated her from an accumulating siege—she must have connived in the extrication—and bore her off to sit beside him upon the stairway that led to the musicians’ gallery, where they were sufficiently retired, yet had a view of the room.

申请者蜂拥而至，催促她为剩下的合同签订合同，但他们并没有把乔治从她身边赶走，尽管他表明他们成功地惹恼了他；不久，他把她从不断增加的围困中解救出来——她一定是纵容了这次解救——然后把她带到通往音乐家画廊的楼梯上，坐在他旁边，在那里他们已经充分休息了，但仍能看到房间的景色。

“How’d all those ducks get to know you so quick?” George inquired, with little enthusiasm.

“那些鸭子怎么这么快就认识你了？”乔治询问道，语气并不热情。

“Oh, I’ve been here a week.”

“哦，我来这里已经一周了。”

“Looks as if you’d been pretty busy!” he said.

“看来你最近很忙啊！”他说。

“Most of those ducks, I don’t know what my mother wanted to invite ’em here for.”

“大多数鸭子，我不知道我妈妈想邀请它们来这里做什么。”

“Don’t you like them?”

“你不喜欢他们吗？”

“Oh, I used to see something of a few of ’em.

“哦，我曾经见过他们中的一些人。

I was president of a club we had here, and some of ’em belonged to it, but I don’t care much for that sort of thing any more.

我是我们这里一个俱乐部的主席，他们中的一些人属于这个俱乐部，但我不再关心这类事情了。

I really don’t see why my mother invited ’em.”

我真的不明白我妈妈为什么邀请他们。”

“Perhaps it was on account of their parents,” Miss Morgan suggested mildly.

“也许是因为他们的父母，”摩根小姐温和地建议道。

“Maybe she didn’t want to offend their fathers and mothers.”

“也许她不想得罪他们的父母。”

“Oh, hardly!

“噢，很难！

I don’t think my mother need worry much about offending anybody in this old town.”

我认为我母亲不需要太担心在这个老城区得罪任何人。”

“It must be wonderful,” said Miss Morgan.

“那一定很美妙，”摩根小姐说。

“It must be wonderful, Mr. Amberson—Mr. Minafer, I mean.”

“这一定很棒，安伯森先生——我是说米纳弗先生。”

“What must be wonderful?”

“什么一定是美妙的？”

“To be so important as that!”

“竟然这么重要！”

“_That_ isn’t ‘important,’” George assured her.

“那_并不‘重要’，”乔治向她保证。

“Anybody that really is anybody ought to be able to do about as they like in their own town, I should think!”

“我认为，任何真正的人都应该能够在自己的城镇里为所欲为！”

She looked at him critically from under her shading lashes—but her eyes grew gentler almost at once.

她从浓密的睫毛下批判地看着他——但她的眼神几乎立刻变得温柔起来。

In truth, they became more appreciative than critical.

事实上，他们变得更加欣赏而不是批评。

George’s imperious good looks were altogether manly, yet approached actual beauty as closely as a boy’s good looks should dare; and dance-music and flowers have some effect upon nineteen-year-old girls as well as upon eighteen-year-old boys.

乔治傲慢的英俊外表完全具有男子气概，但又接近真正的美丽，就像男孩的英俊外表所敢于的那样。舞曲和鲜花对十九岁的女孩和十八岁的男孩都有一定的影响。

Miss Morgan turned her eyes slowly from George, and pressed her face among the lilies-of-the-valley and violets of the pretty bouquet she carried, while, from the gallery above, the music of the next dance carolled out merrily in a new two-step.

摩根小姐慢慢地把目光从乔治身上移开，把脸埋在她随身携带的漂亮花束中的铃兰和紫罗兰之间，同时，从上面的画廊里，下一支舞的音乐以新的两步欢快地响起。

The musicians made the melody gay for the Christmastime with chimes of sleighbells, and the entrance to the shadowed stairway framed the passing flushed and lively dancers, but neither George nor Miss Morgan suggested moving to join the dance.

音乐家们用雪橇铃的铃声使圣诞节的旋律变得欢快，阴影楼梯的入口处映衬着路过的红润而活泼的舞者，但乔治和摩根小姐都没有建议参加舞会。

The stairway was draughty: the steps were narrow and uncomfortable; no older person would have remained in such a place.

楼梯通风不良，台阶狭窄，不舒服；没有哪个老年人会留在这样的地方。

Moreover, these two young people were strangers to each other; neither had said anything in which the other had discovered the slightest intrinsic interest; there had not arisen between them the beginnings of congeniality, or even of friendliness—but stairways near ballrooms have more to answer for than have moonlit lakes and mountain sunsets.

而且，这两个年轻人互不相识，互不相识。双方都没有说过任何让对方发现丝毫内在兴趣的话。他们之间并没有开始产生意气相投，甚至友好——但舞厅附近的楼梯比月光下的湖泊和山上的日落更值得负责。

Some day the laws of glamour must be discovered, because they are so important that the world would be wiser now if Sir Isaac Newton had been hit on the head, not by an apple, but by a young lady.

总有一天，魅力法则一定会被发现，因为它们是如此重要，如果艾萨克·牛顿爵士不是被苹果而是被一位年轻女士击中头部，那么现在世界将会变得更加明智。

Age, confused by its own long accumulation of follies, is everlastingly inquiring, “What does _she_ see in _him?_” as if young love came about through thinking—or through conduct.

年龄被自己长期积累的愚蠢所困惑，不断地询问：“她在他身上看到了什么？”仿佛年轻的爱情是通过思考或通过行为产生的。

Age wants to know: “What on earth can they _talk_ about?” as if talking had anything to do with April rains!

Age 想知道：“他们到底能聊什么？”好像说话和四月的雨有什么关系一样！

At seventy, one gets up in the morning, finds the air sweet under a bright sun, feels lively; thinks, “I am hearty, today,” and plans to go for a drive.

七十岁，早晨起床，阳光明媚，空气清新，心情舒畅；心里想：“今天我很开心”，并计划开车去兜风。

At eighteen, one goes to a dance, sits with a stranger on a stairway, feels peculiar, thinks nothing, and becomes incapable of any plan whatever.

十八岁的时候，一个人去参加舞会，与一个陌生人坐在楼梯上，感觉很奇怪，什么也不思考，并且变得无法制定任何计划。

Miss Morgan and George stayed where they were.

摩根小姐和乔治留在原地。

They had agreed to this in silence and without knowing it; certainly without exchanging glances of intelligence—they had exchanged no glances at all.

他们在不知情的情况下默默地同意了这一点；当然，他们没有交换情报的眼神——他们根本没有交换眼神。

Both sat staring vaguely out into the ballroom, and, for a time, they did not speak.

两人都坐在那儿，茫然地盯着舞厅，有一段时间没有说话。

Over their heads the music reached a climax of vivacity: drums, cymbals, triangle, and sleighbells, beating, clashing, tinkling.

在他们头顶上，音乐达到了活泼的高潮：鼓声、铙钹声、三角铁声和雪橇铃的敲击声、碰撞声、叮当作响。

Here and there were to be seen couples so carried away that, ceasing to move at the decorous, even glide, considered most knowing, they pranced and whirled through the throng, from wall to wall, galloping bounteously in abandon.

到处都可以看到一对对得意忘形的情侣，他们不再以最明智的方式优雅地、甚至滑行地移动，而是在人群中腾跃、旋转，从一堵墙到另一堵墙，尽情地驰骋。

George suffered a shock of vague surprise when he perceived that his aunt, Fanny Minafer, was the lady-half of one of these wild couples.

当乔治发现他的姨妈范妮·米纳弗是其中一对狂野夫妇的女主人时，他感到一阵隐约的惊讶。

Fanny Minafer, who rouged a little, was like fruit which in some climates dries with the bloom on.

范妮·米纳弗（Fanny Minafer）涂了一点胭脂，就像水果，在某些气候下，花朵盛开后就会干涸。

Her features had remained prettily childlike; so had her figure, and there were times when strangers, seeing her across the street, took her to be about twenty; they were other times when at the same distance they took her to be about sixty, instead of forty, as she was.

她的面貌仍然很孩子气。她的身材也是如此，有时，街对面的陌生人看到她，以为她二十岁左右。还有一些时候，在同样的距离下，他们认为她大约有六十岁，而不是实际的四十岁。

She had old days and young days; old hours and young hours; old minutes and young minutes; for the change might be that quick.

她有年老的时光，也有年轻的时光；老时光和年轻时光；老分钟和年轻分钟；因为变化可能就是这么快。

An alteration in her expression, or a difference in the attitude of her head, would cause astonishing indentations to appear—and behold, Fanny was an old lady!

她表情的改变，或者头部姿态的不同，都会导致令人惊讶的凹痕出现——看哪，范妮是一位老太太了！

But she had been never more childlike than she was tonight as she flew over the floor in the capable arms of the queer-looking duck; for this person was her partner.

但今晚，当她被那只看上去很奇怪的鸭子有力的手臂抱在地板上飞翔时，她从来没有像现在这样像个孩子。因为这个人是她的伴侣。

The queer-looking duck had been a real dancer in his day, it appeared; and evidently his day was not yet over.

看来，这只长相怪异的鸭子在他那个时代是一位真正的舞者。显然他的日子还没有结束。

In spite of the headlong, gay rapidity with which he bore Miss Fanny about the big room, he danced authoritatively, avoiding without effort the lightest collision with other couples, maintaining sufficient grace throughout his wildest moments, and all the while laughing and talking with his partner.

尽管他在大房间里带着范妮小姐轻率而快活，但他跳舞时很有权威，毫不费力地避免与其他舞伴发生最轻微的碰撞，在他最狂野的时刻保持足够的优雅，同时与他的舞伴一起笑着和交谈。

What was most remarkable to George, and a little irritating, this stranger in the Amberson Mansion had no vestige of the air of deference proper to a stranger in such a place: he seemed thoroughly at home.

对乔治来说，最引人注目的一点是，也有点令人恼火的是，这个安伯森宅邸里的陌生人完全没有这种地方的陌生人应有的尊重态度：他看起来完全像在家里一样。

He seemed offensively so, indeed, when, passing the entrance to the gallery stairway, he disengaged his hand from Miss Fanny’s for an instant, and not pausing in the dance, waved a laughing salutation more than cordial, then capered lightly out of sight.

事实上，当他经过画廊楼梯入口时，他的手暂时从范妮小姐的手上松开，舞蹈中没有停顿，而是亲切地挥舞着微笑的敬意，然后轻轻地跳着离开了视线。

George gazed stonily at this manifestation, responding neither by word nor sign.

乔治冷漠地注视着这一切，既没有言语也没有做出回应。

“How’s that for a bit of freshness?” he murmured.

“怎么样，有点新鲜感吧？”他低声说道。

“What was?” Miss Morgan asked.

“那是什么？”摩根小姐问道。

“That queer-looking duck waving his hand at me like that.

“那只看起来很奇怪的鸭子就这样向我挥手。

Except he’s the Sharon girls’ uncle I don’t know him from Adam.”

除了他是莎伦女孩的叔叔之外，我不认识他和亚当。”

“You don’t need to,” she said.

“你不需要，”她说。

“He wasn’t waving his hand to you: he meant me.”

“他不是在向你挥手：他指的是我。”

“Oh, he did?” George was not mollified by the explanation.

“哦，他做到了？”乔治并没有因为这个解释而平静下来。

“Everybody seems to mean you!

“看来大家都在指望你啊！

You certainly do seem to’ve been pretty busy this week you’ve been here!”

看来你这周来这里确实很忙！”

She pressed her bouquet to her face again, and laughed into it, not displeased.

她又把花束按在脸上，笑了笑，没有不悦。

She made no other comment, and for another period neither spoke.

她没有发表任何其他评论，并且在接下来的一段时间内都没有说话。

Meanwhile the music stopped; loud applause insisted upon its renewal; an encore was danced; there was an interlude of voices; and the changing of partners began.

与此同时，音乐停止了。热烈的掌声坚持要更新它；又跳了一场安可舞；中间有一阵声音。并开始更换合作伙伴。

“Well,” said George finally, “I must say you don’t seem to be much of a prattler.

“好吧，”乔治最后说道，“我必须说，你看起来不太爱说话。

They say it’s a great way to get a reputation for being wise, never saying much.

他们说这是获得明智、从不多言的声誉的好方法。

Don’t you ever talk _any?_”

你从来不说话吗？_”

“When people can understand,” she answered.

“当人们能够理解时，”她回答道。

He had been looking moodily out at the ballroom but he turned to her quickly, at this, saw that her eyes were sunny and content, over the top of her bouquet; and he consented to smile.

他一直郁郁寡欢地看着舞厅，但他很快转向她，看到她的眼睛在花束的上方，充满阳光和满足；她的眼睛里充满了阳光和满足。他同意微笑。

“Girls are usually pretty fresh!” he said.

“女孩子通常都很新鲜！”他说。

“They ought to go to a man’s college about a year: they’d get taught a few things about freshness!

“他们应该去男子大学学习大约一年：他们会学到一些关于新鲜感的知识！

What you got to do after two o’clock to-morrow afternoon?”

明天下午两点以后你要做什么？”

“A whole lot of things.

“很多事情。

Every minute filled up.”

每一分钟都充满了。”

“All right,” said George.

“好吧，”乔治说。

“The snow’s fine for sleighing: I’ll come for you in a cutter at ten minutes after two.”

“雪很适合拉雪橇：两点过十分钟我会坐雪橇来接你。”

“I can’t possibly go.”

“我不可能去。”

“If you don’t,” he said, “I’m going to sit in the cutter in front of the gate, wherever you’re visiting, all afternoon, and if you try to go out with anybody else he’s got to whip me before he gets you.” And as she laughed—though she blushed a little, too—he continued, seriously: “If you think I’m not in earnest you’re at liberty to make quite a big experiment!”

“如果你不这样做，”他说，“整个下午，无论你去哪里，我都会坐在大门前的快艇里，如果你想和其他人出去，他就必须在抓住你之前鞭打我。”当她笑起来时——尽管她也有点脸红——他继续严肃地说道：“如果你认为我不是认真的，你就可以自由地做一个相当大的实验！”

She laughed again.

她又笑了。

“I don’t think I’ve often had so large a compliment as that,” she said, “especially on such short notice—and yet, I don’t think I’ll go with you.

“我不认为我经常受到如此大的赞美，”她说，“尤其是在这么短的时间内——然而，我想我不会和你一起去。

“You be ready at ten minutes after two.”

“两点过十分钟你就准备好了。”

“No, I won’t.”

“不，我不会。”

“Yes, you will!”

“是的，你会的！”

“Yes,” she said, “I will!” And her partner for the next dance arrived, breathless with searching.

“是的，”她说，“我会的！”下一支舞的舞伴也到了，气喘吁吁地寻找着。

“Don’t forget I’ve got the third from now,” George called after her.

“别忘了，从现在起我已经有了第三个了。”乔治在她身后喊道。

“I won’t.”

“我不会。”

“And every third one after that.”

“此后每隔第三个。”

“I know!” she called, over her partner’s shoulder, and her voice was amused—but meek.

“我知道！”她越过伴侣的肩膀喊道，她的声音很有趣，但很温柔。

When “the third from now” came, George presented himself before her without any greeting, like a brother, or a mannerless old friend.

当“从现在开始的第三个”到来时，乔治出现在她面前，没有任何问候，就像一个兄弟，或者一个没有礼貌的老朋友。

Neither did she greet him, but moved away with him, concluding, as she went, an exchange of badinage with the preceding partner: she had been talkative enough with him, it appeared.

她也没有向他打招呼，而是和他一起走开，在走的过程中，她与前一个伙伴互相开玩笑：看来她已经和他聊得够多了。

In fact, both George and Miss Morgan talked much more to every one else that evening, than to each other; and they said nothing at all at this time.

事实上，那天晚上，乔治和摩根小姐与其他人交谈的次数比彼此交谈的次数多得多。而此时他们什么也没说。

Both looked preoccupied, as they began to dance, and preserved a gravity of expression to the end of the number.

当他们开始跳舞时，两人看上去都很全神贯注，并且直到舞蹈结束都保持着严肃的表情。

And when “the third one after that” came, they did not dance, but went back to the gallery stairway, seeming to have reached an understanding without any verbal consultation, that this suburb was again the place for them.

当“第三个”到来时，他们没有跳舞，而是回到了画廊的楼梯上，似乎无需任何口头协商就达成了共识，这个郊区再次成为他们的地方。

“Well,” said George, coolly, when they were seated, “what did you say your name was?”

“好吧，”当他们坐下后，乔治冷静地说，“你说你叫什么名字？”

“Morgan.”

“摩根。”

“Funny name!”

“有趣的名字！”

“Everybody else’s name always is.”

“其他人的名字永远都是。”

“I didn’t mean it was really funny,” George explained.

“我并不是说这真的很有趣，”乔治解释道。

“That’s just one of my crowd’s bits of horsing at college.

“这只是我的一群人在大学里的玩笑之一。

We always say ‘funny name’ no matter what it is.

不管它是什么，我们总是说“有趣的名字”。

I guess we’re pretty fresh sometimes; but I knew your name was Morgan because my mother said so downstairs.

我想我们有时很新鲜；但我知道你叫摩根，因为我妈妈在楼下这么说的。

I meant: what’s the rest of it?”

我的意思是：剩下的是什么？”

“Lucy.”

“露西。”

He was silent.

他沉默了。

“Is ‘Lucy’ a funny name, too?” she inquired.

“‘露西’也是一个有趣的名字吗？”她询问道。

“No. Lucy’s very much all right!” he said, and he went so far as to smile.

“不。”露西很好！”他说道，甚至还笑了。

Even his Aunt Fanny admitted that when George smiled “in a certain way” he was charming.

就连他的姨妈范妮也承认，当乔治“以某种方式”微笑时，他很迷人。

“Thanks about letting my name be Lucy,” she said.

“谢谢你让我叫露西，”她说。

“How old are you?” George asked.

“你多大了？”乔治问道。

“I don’t really know, myself.”

“我自己也不太清楚。”

“What do you mean: you don’t really know yourself?”

“你什么意思：你并不真正了解自己？”

“I mean I only know what they tell me.

“我的意思是我只知道他们告诉我的事情。

I believe them, of course, but believing isn’t really knowing.

我当然相信他们，但相信并不意味着真正了解。

You believe some certain day is your birthday—at least, I suppose you do—but you don’t really know it is because you can’t remember.”

你相信某一天是你的生日——至少，我想你是这么认为的——但你并不真正知道那是因为你不记得了。”

“Look here!” said George.

“看这里！”乔治说。

“Do you always talk like this?”

“你总是这样说话吗？”

Miss Lucy Morgan laughed forgivingly, put her young head on one side, like a bird, and responded cheerfully: “I’m willing to learn wisdom.

露西·摩根小姐宽容地笑了，把年轻的脑袋像小鸟一样偏向一边，高兴地回答道：“我愿意学习智慧。

What are you studying in school?”

你在学校学什么？”

“College!”

“大学！”

“At the university!

“在大学！

Yes.

是的。

What are you studying there?”

你在那里学什么？”

George laughed.

乔治笑了。

“Lot o’ useless guff!”

“一堆没用的废话！”

“Then why don’t you study some useful guff?”

“那你为什么不学点有用的废话呢？”

“What do you mean: ‘useful’?”

“‘有用’是什么意思？”

“Something you’d use later, in your business or profession?”

“你以后会在你的生意或职业中使用的东西吗？”

George waved his hand impatiently.

乔治不耐烦地挥挥手。

“I don’t expect to go into any ‘business or profession’.”

“我不希望从事任何‘商业或职业’。”

“No?”

“不？”

“Certainly not!” George was emphatic, being sincerely annoyed by a suggestion which showed how utterly she failed to comprehend the kind of person he was.

“当然不是！”乔治语气强硬，对她的建议感到由衷的恼火，这表明她完全无法理解他是一个什么样的人。

“Why not?” she asked mildly.

“为什么不呢？”她温和地问道。

“Just look at ’em!” he said, almost with bitterness, and he made a gesture presumably intended to indicate the business and professional men now dancing within range of vision.

“看看他们！”他几乎带着苦涩地说，他做了一个手势，大概是为了示意现在在视野范围内跳舞的商界人士和专业人士。

“That’s a fine career for a man, isn’t it!

“这对一个男人来说是一份很好的职业，不是吗！

Lawyers, bankers, politicians!

律师、银行家、政治家！

What do they get out of life, I’d like to know!

他们从生活中得到了什么，我想知道！

What do they ever know about _real_ things?

他们对真实的事物了解多少？

Where do they ever _get?_”

他们到哪里去？_”

He was so earnest that she was surprised and impressed.

他如此认真，让她感到惊讶和感动。

Evidently he had deep-seated ambitions, for he seemed to speak with actual emotion of these despised things which were so far beneath his planning for the future.

显然他有着根深蒂固的野心，因为他似乎带着真实的情感谈论这些被鄙视的事情，而这些事情远远超出了他对未来的规划。

She had a vague, momentary vision of Pitt, at twenty-one, prime minister of England; and she spoke, involuntarily in a lowered voice, with deference:

她对二十一岁的英国首相皮特有一个模糊的、短暂的想象。她不由自主地低声恭敬地说道：

“What do you want to be?” she asked.

“你想成为什么？”她问道。

George answered promptly.

乔治立即回答。

“A yachtsman,” he said.

“一名游艇驾驶员，”他说。

Chapter VI

第六章

Having thus, in a word, revealed his ambition for a career above courts, marts, and polling booths, George breathed more deeply than usual, and, turning his face from the lovely companion whom he had just made his confidant, gazed out at the dancers with an expression in which there was both sternness and a contempt for the squalid lives of the unyachted Midlanders before him.

总而言之，乔治就这样表达了他在法庭、集市和投票站之上的职业抱负，他比平常呼吸得更深，然后把脸从他刚刚成为知己的可爱同伴身上转开，凝视着舞者，脸上的表情既严厉又蔑视面前那些没有游艇的中部地区人的肮脏生活。

However, among them, he marked his mother; and his sombre grandeur relaxed momentarily; a more genial light came into his eyes.

然而，其中，他标记了他的母亲；他那阴郁的威严瞬间放松下来。他的眼中闪现出更加和善的光芒。

Isabel was dancing with the queer-looking duck; and it was to be noted that the lively gentleman’s gait was more sedate than it had been with Miss Fanny Minafer, but not less dexterous and authoritative.

伊莎贝尔正在和那只长相古怪的鸭子跳舞。值得注意的是，这位活泼绅士的步态比范妮·米纳弗小姐的步态更加稳重，但同样灵巧和权威。

He was talking to Isabel as gaily as he had talked to Miss Fanny, though with less laughter, and Isabel listened and answered eagerly: her colour was high and her eyes had a look of delight.

他和伊莎贝尔说话的时候就像和范妮小姐说话一样快活，只是笑声少了一些。伊莎贝尔听着，热切地回答：她的脸色很高，眼睛里流露出喜悦的神情。

She saw George and the beautiful Lucy on the stairway, and nodded to them.

她在楼梯上看到了乔治和美丽的露西，向他们点了点头。

George waved his hand vaguely: he had a momentary return of that inexplicable uneasiness and resentment which had troubled him downstairs.

乔治含糊地挥了挥手：楼下困扰他的那种莫名的不安和怨恨瞬间又回来了。

“How lovely your mother is!” Lucy said

“你的妈妈多可爱啊！”露西说

“I think she is,” he agreed gently.

“我想她是的，”他温和地表示同意。

“She’s the gracefulest woman in that ballroom.

“她是那个舞厅里最优雅的女人。

She dances like a girl of sixteen.”

她跳舞就像一个十六岁的女孩。”

“Most girls of sixteen,” said George, “are bum dancers.

“大多数十六岁的女孩，”乔治说，“都是流浪舞者。

Anyhow, I wouldn’t dance with one unless I had to.”

不管怎样，除非万不得已，我不会和一个人跳舞。”

“Well, you’d better dance with your mother!

“好吧，你最好和你妈妈一起跳舞！

I never saw anybody lovelier.

我从未见过比他更可爱的人。

How wonderfully they dance together!”

他们一起跳舞多么美妙啊！”

“Who?”

“WHO？”

“Your mother and—and the queer-looking duck,” said Lucy.

“你的妈妈和——还有那只长相奇怪的鸭子，”露西说。

“I’m going to dance with him pretty soon.”

“我很快就会和他一起跳舞。”

“I don’t care—so long as you don’t give him one of the numbers that belong to me.”

“我不在乎——只要你不把属于我的号码之一给他。”

“I’ll try to remember,” she said, and thoughtfully lifted to her face the bouquet of violets and lilies, a gesture which George noted without approval.

“我会尽力记住的，”她说，若有所思地把紫罗兰和百合花举到脸上，乔治注意到了这一举动，但并未表示赞同。

“Look here!

“看这里！

Who sent you those flowers you keep makin’ such a fuss over?”

谁给你送了你这么大惊小怪的花？”

“He did.”

“他做到了。”

“Who’s ‘he’?”

“‘他’是谁？”

“The queer-looking duck.”

“那只长相奇怪的鸭子。”

George feared no such rival; he laughed loudly.

乔治不惧怕这样的对手；他大声笑起来。

“I s’pose he’s some old widower!” he said, the object thus described seeming ignominious enough to a person of eighteen, without additional characterization.

“我猜他是个老鳏夫！”他说，这样描述的物体对于一个十八岁的人来说似乎是可耻的，不需要额外的描述。

“Some old widower!”

“某个老鳏夫！”

Lucy became serious at once.

露西立刻严肃起来。

“Yes, he is a widower,” she said.

“是的，他是个鳏夫，”她说。

“I ought to have told you before; he’s my father.”

“我应该早告诉你的；他是我的父亲。”

George stopped laughing abruptly.

乔治突然停止了笑声。

“Well, that’s a horse on me.

“嗯，那是我身上的一匹马。

If I’d known he was your father, of course I wouldn’t have made fun of him.

如果我知道他是你的父亲，我当然不会取笑他。

I’m sorry.”

对不起。”

“Nobody could make fun of him,” she said quietly.

“没有人可以取笑他，”她平静地说。

“Why couldn’t they?”

“为什么他们不能？”

“It wouldn’t make him funny: it would only make themselves silly.”

“这不会让他变得有趣：只会让他们自己变得愚蠢。”

Upon this, George had a gleam of intelligence.

想到这里，乔治灵机一动。

“Well, I’m not going to make myself silly any more, then; I don’t want to take chances like that with _you_.

“好吧，那么我不会再让自己变得愚蠢了；我不想和_你_冒险。

But I thought he was the Sharon girls’ uncle.

但我以为他是莎伦女孩的叔叔。

He came with them—”

他和他们一起来了——”

“Yes,” she said, “I’m always late to everything: I wouldn’t let them wait for me.

“是的，”她说，“我总是迟到：我不会让他们等我。

We’re visiting the Sharons.”

我们正在参观沙龙。”

“About time I knew that!

“我是时候知道了！

You forget my being so fresh about your father, will you?

你忘记了我对你父亲如此新鲜，是吗？

Of course he’s a distinguished looking man, in a way.”

当然，从某种程度上来说，他是一个看起来很杰出的人。”

Lucy was still serious.

露西依然很严肃。

“‘In a way?’” she repeated.

“‘在某种程度上？’”她重复道。

“You mean, not in your way, don’t you?”

“你的意思是，不以你的方式，不是吗？”

George was perplexed.

乔治很困惑。

“How do you mean: not in my way?”

“你的意思是：不以我的方式？”

“People pretty often say ‘in a way’ and ‘rather distinguished looking,’ or ‘rather’ so-and-so, or ‘rather’ anything, to show that _they’re_ superior, don’t they?

“人们经常说‘在某种程度上’和‘看起来相当杰出’，或者‘相当’某某，或者‘相当’任何东西，以表明他们是优越的，不是吗？

In New York last month I overheard a climber sort of woman speaking of me as ‘little Miss Morgan,’ but she didn’t mean my height; she meant that she was important.

上个月在纽约，我无意中听到一位登山者般的女士称我为“小摩根小姐”，但她指的并不是我的身高；而是我的身高。她的意思是她很重要。

Her husband spoke of a friend of mine as ‘little Mr. Pembroke’ and ‘little Mr. Pembroke’ is six-feet-three.

她丈夫称我的一个朋友为“小彭布罗克先生”，“小彭布罗克先生”身高六英尺三英寸。

This husband and wife were really so terribly unimportant that the only way they knew to pretend to be important was calling people ‘little’ Miss or Mister so-and-so.

这对夫妻实在是太不重要了，他们知道装重要的唯一方法就是叫人“小”小姐或某某先生。

It’s a kind of snob slang, I think.

我认为这是一种势利俚语。

Of course people don’t always say ‘rather’ or ‘in a way’ to be superior.”

当然，人们并不总是说‘相当’或‘在某种程度上’是优越的。”

“I should say not!

“我应该说不是！

I use both of ’em a great deal myself,” said George.

我自己也经常使用它们，”乔治说。

“One thing I don’t see though: What’s the use of a man being six-feet-three?

“但有一件事我不明白：一个六英尺三英寸的男人有什么用？

Men that size can’t handle themselves as well as a man about five-feet-eleven and a half can.

这种身材的男人无法像身高大约五英尺十一半的男人那样处理好自己。

Those long, gangling men, they’re nearly always too kind of wormy to be any good in athletics, and they’re so awkward they keep falling over chairs or—”

那些又高又瘦的男人，他们几乎总是太像虫子了，在体育方面表现不佳，而且他们很笨拙，总是从椅子上摔下来，或者——”

“Mr. Pembroke is in the army,” said Lucy primly.

“先生。”彭布罗克在军队里。”露西一本正经地说。

“He’s extraordinarily graceful.”

“他非常优雅。”

“In the army?

“在军队里？

Oh, I suppose he’s some old friend of your father’s.”

哦，我想他是你父亲的某个老朋友。”

“They got on very well,” she said, “after I introduced them.”

“在我介绍他们之后，他们相处得很好，”她说。

George was a straightforward soul, at least.

至少乔治是一个直率的人。

“See here!” he said.

“看这里！”他说。

“Are you engaged to anybody?”

“你和别人订婚了吗？”

“No.”

“不。”

Not wholly mollified, he shrugged his shoulders.

他并没有完全平静下来，耸了耸肩。

“You seem to know a good many people!

“看来你认识的人不少啊！

Do you live in New York?”

你住在纽约吗？

“No. We don’t live anywhere.”

“不。我们不住在任何地方。”

“What you mean: you don’t live anywhere?”

“你的意思是：你不住在任何地方？”

“We’ve lived all over,” she answered.

“我们到处都住过，”她回答道。

“Papa used to live here in this town, but that was before I was born.”

“爸爸曾经住在这个小镇上，但那是在我出生之前。”

“What do you keep moving around so for?

“你老这么走来走去干什么？

Is he a promoter?”

他是促销员吗？”

“No. He’s an inventor.”

“不。他是一位发明家。”

“What’s he invented?”

“他发明了什么？”

“Just lately,” said Lucy, “he’s been working on a new kind of horseless carriage.”

“最近，”露西说，“他一直在研究一种新型的无马马车。”

“Well, I’m sorry for him,” George said, in no unkindly spirit.

“好吧，我为他感到难过，”乔治说道，语气中并没有恶意。

“Those things are never going to amount to anything.

“那些事情永远不会有什么结果。

People aren’t going to spend their lives lying on their backs in the road and letting grease drip in their faces.

人们不会一辈子仰面躺在路上，让油脂滴到脸上。

Horseless carriages are pretty much a failure, and your father better not waste his time on ’em.”

无马马车几乎是一种失败，你父亲最好不要在它们上浪费时间。”

“Papa’d be so grateful,” she returned, “if he could have your advice.”

“如果爸爸能得到你的建议，”她回答道，“他会非常感激的。”

Instantly George’s face became flushed.

乔治的脸顿时涨红了。

“I don’t know that I’ve done anything to be insulted for!” he said.

“我不知道我做了什么值得被侮辱的事！”他说。

“I don’t see that what I said was particularly fresh.”

“我没觉得我说的特别新鲜。”

“No, indeed!”

“不，确实如此！”

“Then what do you—”

“那你要做什么——”

She laughed gaily.

她笑得很开心。

“I don’t!

“我不！

And I don’t mind your being such a lofty person at all.

我一点也不介意你是一个如此崇高的人。

I think it’s ever so interesting—but papa’s a great man!”

我觉得这很有趣——但爸爸是一个伟大的人！”

“Is he?” George decided to be good-natured.

“是吗？”乔治决定表现得和蔼可亲。

“Well, let us hope so.

“好吧，让我们希望如此。

I hope so, I’m sure.”

我希望如此，我确信。”

Looking at him keenly, she saw that the magnificent youth was incredibly sincere in this bit of graciousness.

目光锐利地看着他，发现这位伟人青年的这份恩情，是无比的真诚。

He spoke as a tolerant, elderly statesman might speak of a promising young politician; and with her eyes still upon him, Lucy shook her head in gentle wonder.

他的讲话就像一个宽容的老年政治家可能会谈论一个有前途的年轻政治家一样。露西的眼睛仍然看着他，轻轻地惊奇地摇摇头。

“I’m just beginning to understand,” she said.

“我才刚刚开始明白，”她说。

“Understand what?”

“明白什么？”

“What it means to be a real Amberson in this town.

“在这个小镇成为真正的安伯森意味着什么。

Papa told me something about it before we came, but I see he didn’t say half enough!”

爸爸在我们来之前就跟我说了一些事情，但我看他说得还不够多！”

George superbly took this all for tribute.

乔治出色地将这一切视为致敬。

“Did your father say he knew the family before he left here?”

“你父亲在离开这里之前有没有说过他认识这个家庭？”

“Yes.

“是的。

I believe he was particularly a friend of your Uncle George; and he didn’t say so, but I imagine he must have known your mother very well, too.

我相信他是你乔治叔叔的特别朋友；他没有这么说，但我想他一定也很了解你的母亲。

He wasn’t an inventor then; he was a young lawyer.

那时他还不是发明家；他是一名发明家。他是一位年轻的律师。

The town was smaller in those days, and I believe he was quite well known.”

那个时候小镇比较小，我相信他还是很有名的。”

“I dare say.

“我敢说。

I’ve no doubt the family are all very glad to see him back, especially if they used to have him at the house a good deal, as he told you.”

我毫不怀疑，家人都很高兴看到他回来，尤其是如果他们以前经常让他呆在家里的话，就像他告诉你的那样。”

“I don’t think he meant to boast of it,” she said: “He spoke of it quite calmly.”

“我认为他并不是想吹嘘这件事，”她说，“他说起这件事时非常平静。”

George stared at her for a moment in perplexity, then perceiving that her intention was satirical, “Girls really ought to go to a man’s college,” he said—“just a month or two, anyhow.

乔治困惑地盯着她看了一会儿，然后意识到她的意图是讽刺，“女孩确实应该去男人的大学，”他说——“无论如何，只要一两个月。

It’d take _some_ of the freshness out of ’em!”

这会让他们失去一些新鲜感！”

“I can’t believe it,” she retorted, as her partner for the next dance arrived.

“我简直不敢相信，”当她下一支舞的舞伴到来时，她反驳道。

“It would only make them a little politer on the surface—they’d be really just as awful as ever, after you got to know them a few minutes.”

“这只会让他们表面上更有礼貌一些——当你了解他们几分钟后，他们实际上会像以前一样糟糕。”

“What do you mean: ‘after you got to know them a—’”

“你是什么意思：‘在你了解他们之后——’”

She was departing to the dance.

她正要去参加舞会。

“Janie and Mary Sharon told me all about what sort of a _little_ boy you were,” she said, over her shoulder.

“珍妮和玛丽莎伦告诉我你是一个什么样的小男孩，”她回头说道。

“You must think it out!” She took wing away on the breeze of the waltz, and George, having stared gloomily after her for a few moments, postponed filling an engagement, and strolled round the fluctuating outskirts of the dance to where his uncle, George Amberson, stood smilingly watching, under one of the rose-vine arches at the entrance to the room.

“你一定要想清楚！”她在华尔兹的微风中展翅而去，乔治阴沉地盯着她看了一会儿，推迟了约会，在舞会波动的边缘漫步，来到他的叔叔乔治·安伯森微笑地站在房间入口处的一个玫瑰藤拱门下观看的地方。

“Hello, young namesake,” said the uncle.

“你好，同名的年轻人，”叔叔说。

“Why lingers the laggard heel of the dancer?

“为什么舞者的落后的脚后跟徘徊？

Haven’t you got a partner?”

你没有伙伴吗？”

“She’s sitting around waiting for me somewhere,” said George.

“她坐在某处等我，”乔治说。

“See here: Who is this fellow Morgan that Aunt Fanny Minafer was dancing with a while?”

“看这里：范妮·米纳弗姨妈刚才和她跳舞的那个摩根家伙是谁？”

Amberson laughed.

安伯森笑了。

“He’s a man with a pretty daughter, Georgie.

“他是一个有漂亮女儿乔吉的男人。

Meseemed you’ve been spending the evening noticing something of that sort—or do I err?”

我觉得你整个晚上都在注意到类似的事情——还是我错了？”

“Never mind!

“没关系！

What sort is he?”

他是什么样的人？

“I think we’ll have to give him a character, Georgie.

“我认为我们必须给他一个角色，乔吉。

He’s an old friend; used to practice law here—perhaps he had more debts than cases, but he paid ’em all up before he left town.

他是一位老朋友；他曾经在这里从事法律工作——也许他的债务比案子还多，但他在离开小镇之前还清了所有债务。

Your question is purely mercenary, I take it: you want to know his true worth before proceeding further with the daughter.

我认为你的问题纯粹是唯利是图：在进一步处理女儿之前，你想知道他的真正价值。

I cannot inform you, though I notice signs of considerable prosperity in that becoming dress of hers.

我无法告诉你，尽管我注意到她那件合身的衣服有相当繁荣的迹象。

However, you never can tell, it is an age when every sacrifice is made for the young, and how your own poor mother managed to provide those genuine pearl studs for you out of her allowance from father, I can’t—”

不过，你永远也说不出来，现在是一个什么都为了年轻人而牺牲的时代，而你可怜的母亲是如何用父亲的零用钱为你提供那些真正的珍珠耳钉的，我无法——”

“Oh, dry up!” said the nephew.

“哦，擦干吧！”侄子说。

“I understand this Morgan—”

“我明白这个摩根——”

“Mr. Eugene Morgan,” his uncle suggested.

“先生。”尤金·摩根，”他叔叔建议道。

“Politeness requires that the young should—”

“礼貌要求年轻人应该——”

“I guess the ‘young’ didn’t know much about politeness in your day,” George interrupted.

“我猜你们那个时代的‘年轻人’不太懂得礼貌，”乔治打断道。

“I understand that Mr. Eugene Morgan used to be a great friend of the family.”

“据我所知，尤金·摩根先生曾经是这个家庭的好朋友。”

“Oh, the Minafers?” the uncle inquired, with apparent innocence.

“哦，米纳弗斯队？”叔叔问道，一副天真无邪的样子。

“No, I seem to recall that he and your father were not—”

“不，我好像记得他和你父亲不是——”

“I mean the Ambersons,” George said impatiently.

“我指的是安伯森一家，”乔治不耐烦地说。

“I understand he was a good deal around the house here.”

“我知道他在这儿很重要。”

“What is your objection to that, George?”

“乔治，你对此有何反对意见？”

“What do you mean: my objection?”

“你的意思是：我的反对？”

“You seemed to speak with a certain crossness.”

“你说话的语气似乎有些生气。”

“Well,” said George, “I meant he seems to feel awfully at home here.

“嗯，”乔治说，“我的意思是他在这里感觉非常自在。

The way he was dancing with Aunt Fanny—”

他和范妮姨妈跳舞的样子——”

Amberson laughed.

安伯森笑了。

“I’m afraid your Aunt Fanny’s heart was stirred by ancient recollections, Georgie.”

“恐怕你的范妮阿姨的心被古老的回忆所搅动了，乔吉。”

“You mean she used to be silly about him?”

“你是说她以前对他很傻？”

“She wasn’t considered singular,” said the uncle “He was—he was popular.

“她并不被认为是独一无二的，”叔叔说，“他是——他很受欢迎。

Could you bear a question?”

可以请教一下吗？

“What do you mean: could I bear—”

“你的意思是：我能忍受——”

“I only wanted to ask: Do you take this same passionate interest in the parents of every girl you dance with?

“我只是想问：你对每一个和你跳舞的女孩的父母都抱有同样的热情吗？

Perhaps it’s a new fashion we old bachelors ought to take up.

也许这是我们这些老单身汉应该采取的新时尚。

Is it the thing this year to—”

今年的事情是——”

“Oh, go on!” said George, moving away.

“噢，继续吧！”乔治说着走开了。

“I only wanted to know—” He left the sentence unfinished, and crossed the room to where a girl sat waiting for his nobility to find time to fulfil his contract with her for this dance.

“我只是想知道——”他没有把这句话说完，穿过房间来到一个女孩那里，等待他的贵族抽出时间履行他与她的舞会合同。

“Pardon f’ keep’ wait,” he muttered, as she rose brightly to meet him; and she seemed pleased that he came at all—but George was used to girls’ looking radiant when he danced with them, and she had little effect upon him.

“请稍等，”当她高兴地站起来迎接他时，他低声说道。她似乎很高兴他能来——但乔治已经习惯了和女孩跳舞时容光焕发的样子，她对他影响不大。

He danced with her perfunctorily, thinking the while of Mr. Eugene Morgan and his daughter.

他敷衍地和她跳舞，心里想着尤金·摩根先生和他的女儿。

Strangely enough, his thoughts dwelt more upon the father than the daughter, though George could not possibly have given a reason—even to himself—for this disturbing preponderance.

奇怪的是，他的思绪更多地集中在父亲身上，而不是女儿身上，尽管乔治不可能对这种令人不安的优势给出一个理由——甚至对他自己来说也是如此。

By a coincidence, though not an odd one, the thoughts and conversation of Mr. Eugene Morgan at this very time were concerned with George Amberson Minafer, rather casually, it is true.

巧合的是，虽然并不奇怪，但尤金·摩根先生此时的想法和谈话都与乔治·安伯森·米纳弗有关，相当随意，这是事实。

Mr. Morgan had retired to a room set apart for smoking, on the second floor, and had found a grizzled gentleman lounging in solitary possession.

摩根先生退到二楼一间专门用于吸烟的房间，发现一位头发花白的绅士正独自闲逛。

“‘Gene Morgan!” this person exclaimed, rising with great heartiness.

“‘吉恩·摩根！’”此人大叫一声，起身，豪气十足。

“I’d heard you were in town—I don’t believe you know me!”

“我听说你在城里——我不相信你认识我！”

“Yes, I do, Fred Kinney!” Mr. Morgan returned with equal friendliness.

“是的，我愿意，弗莱德·金尼！”摩根先生带着同样的友善回来了。

“Your real face—the one I used to know—it’s just underneath the one you’re masquerading in to-night.

“你的真面目——我以前认识的那张——就在你今晚伪装的那张脸的下面。

You ought to have changed it more if you wanted a disguise.”

如果你想要伪装的话，你就应该改变更多。”

“Twenty years!” said Mr. Kinney.

“二十年了！”金尼先生说。

“It makes some difference in faces, but more in behaviour!”

“这在面孔上有所不同，但在行为上更重要！”

“It does so!” his friend agreed with explosive emphasis.

“原来如此！”他的朋友极力赞同。

“My own behaviour began to be different about that long ago—quite suddenly.”

“很久以前，我自己的行为就开始有所不同——非常突然。”

“I remember,” said Mr. Kinney sympathetically.

“我记得，”金尼先生同情地说。

“Well, life’s odd enough as we look back.”

“嗯，当我们回想起来，生活已经够奇怪的了。”

“Probably it’s going to be odder still—if we could look forward.”

“如果我们能向前看的话，情况可能会更奇怪。”

“Probably.”

“大概。”

They sat and smoked.

他们坐下来抽烟。

“However,” Mr. Morgan remarked presently, “I still dance like an Indian.

“然而，”摩根先生不久说道，“我仍然像印第安人一样跳舞。

Don’t you?”

你不是吗？

“No. I leave that to my boy Fred.

“不。我把这个留给我的儿子弗雷德。

He does the dancing for the family.”

他为家人跳舞。”

“I suppose he’s upstairs hard at it?”

“我猜他在楼上很努力吧？”

“No, he’s not here.” Mr. Kinney glanced toward the open door and lowered his voice.

“不，他不在这里。”金尼先生看了一眼敞开的门，压低了声音。

“He wouldn’t come.

“他不会来。

It seems that a couple of years or so ago he had a row with young Georgie Minafer.

大约几年前，他似乎与年轻的乔吉·米纳弗发生了争吵。

Fred was president of a literary club they had, and he said this young Georgie got himself elected instead, in an overbearing sort of way.

弗雷德是他们拥有的一个文学俱乐部的主席，他说这个年轻的乔治以一种专横的方式当选了。

Fred’s red-headed, you know—I suppose you remember his mother?

弗雷德是红头发的，你知道吗——我想你还记得他的母亲吗？

You were at the wedding—”

你参加了婚礼——”

“I remember the wedding,” said Mr. Morgan.

“我记得婚礼，”摩根先生说。

“And I remember your bachelor dinner—most of it, that is.”

“我记得你的单身汉晚餐——大部分都是这样。”

“Well, my boy Fred’s as red-headed now,” Mr. Kinney went on, “as his mother was then, and he’s very bitter about his row with Georgie Minafer.

“嗯，我的孩子弗雷德现在和他母亲当时一样是红头发的，”金尼先生继续说道，“他对与乔吉·米纳弗的争吵感到非常痛苦。

He says he’d rather burn his foot off than set it inside any Amberson house or any place else where young Georgie is.

他说他宁愿烧掉自己的脚，也不愿把它放在安伯森的任何房子里或小乔治所在的任何其他地方。

Fact is, the boy seemed to have so much feeling over it I had my doubts about coming myself, but my wife said it was all nonsense; we mustn’t humour Fred in a grudge over such a little thing, and while she despised that Georgie Minafer, herself, as much as any one else did, she wasn’t going to miss a big Amberson show just on account of a boys’ rumpus, and so on and so on; and so we came.”

事实上，这个男孩似乎对此有很大的感情，我什至怀疑自己是否会来，但我的妻子说这都是胡说八道；我们不能因为这样一件小事而怀恨在心地迁就弗雷德，虽然她和其他人一样鄙视乔吉·米纳弗本人，但她不会仅仅因为一个男孩的闹腾而错过一场大型的安伯森演出，等等；所以我们就来了。”

“Do people dislike young Minafer generally?”

“人们普遍不喜欢年轻的米纳弗吗？”

“I don’t know about ‘generally.’ I guess he gets plenty of toadying; but there’s certainly a lot of people that are glad to express their opinions about him.”

“我不知道‘一般’是什么。我猜他受到了很多阿谀奉承；但肯定有很多人很乐意表达他们对他的看法。”

“What’s the matter with him?”

“他怎么了？”

“Too much Amberson, I suppose, for one thing.

“我想，一方面，安伯森太多了。

And for another, his mother just fell down and worshipped him from the day he was born.

另一方面，他的母亲从他出生那天起就跪下来崇拜他。

That’s what beats me!

这就是打败我的原因！

I don’t have to tell you what Isabel Amberson is, Eugene Morgan.

我不必告诉你伊莎贝尔·安伯森是谁，尤金·摩根。

She’s got a touch of the Amberson high stuff about her, but you can’t get anybody that ever knew her to deny that she’s just about the finest woman in the world.”

她身上有一点安伯森的高调，但你无法让任何认识她的人否认她是世界上最优秀的女人。”

“No,” said Eugene Morgan.

“不，”尤金·摩根说。

“You can’t get anybody to deny that.”

“你无法让任何人否认这一点。”

“Then I can’t see how she doesn’t see the truth about that boy.

“那我不明白她怎么看不到那个男孩的真相。

He thinks he’s a little tin god on wheels—and honestly, it makes some people weak and sick just to think about him!

他认为自己是一个带轮子的小锡神——老实说，有些人一想到他就会感到虚弱和恶心！

Yet that high-spirited, intelligent woman, Isabel Amberson, actually sits and worships him!

然而那个意气风发、聪明才智的女人，伊莎贝尔·安伯森，居然坐着崇拜他！

You can hear it in her voice when she speaks to him or speaks of him.

当她与他说话或谈到他时，你可以从她的声音中听到这一点。

You can see it in her eyes when she looks at him.

当她看着他时，你可以从她的眼睛里看到这一点。

My Lord!

我的主啊！

What _does_ she see when she looks at him?”

当她看着他时，她看到了什么？

Morgan’s odd expression of genial apprehension deepened whimsically, though it denoted no actual apprehension whatever, and cleared away from his face altogether when he smiled; he became surprisingly winning and persuasive when he smiled.

摩根脸上那种和蔼可亲、忧心忡忡的奇怪表情异想天开地加深了，尽管这并不表示真正的忧虑，但当他微笑时，这种表情就完全从他脸上消失了。当他微笑时，他变得令人惊讶地具有说服力和说服力。

He smiled now, after a moment, at this question of his old friend.

过了一会儿，他对老朋友的这个问题笑了。

“She sees something that we don’t see,” he said.

“她看到了我们看不到的东西，”他说。

“What does she see?”

“她看到了什么？”

“An angel.”

“一个天使。”

Kinney laughed aloud.

金尼放声大笑。

“Well, if she sees an angel when she looks at Georgie Minafer, she’s a funnier woman than I thought she was!”

“好吧，如果她在看着乔吉·米纳弗时看到了天使，那么她就是一个比我想象的更有趣的女人！”

“Perhaps she is,” said Morgan.

“也许她是，”摩根说。

“But that’s what she sees.”

“但这就是她所看到的。”

“My Lord!

“主啊！

It’s easy to see you’ve only known him an hour or so.

很容易看出你只认识他一个小时左右。

In that time have you looked at Georgie and seen an angel?”

那段时间你看着乔吉，有没有看到一个天使？”

“No. All I saw was a remarkably good-looking fool-boy with the pride of Satan and a set of nice new drawing-room manners that he probably couldn’t use more than half an hour at a time without busting.”

“不。我所看到的只是一个非常英俊的傻男孩，有着撒旦的骄傲和一套漂亮的新客厅礼仪，他可能一次使用超过半个小时就会崩溃。”

“Then what—”

“然后呢——”

“Mothers are right,” said Morgan.

“母亲们是对的，”摩根说。

“Do you think this young George is the same sort of creature when he’s with his mother that he is when he’s bulldozing your boy Fred?

“你认为这个年轻的乔治和他母亲在一起时和他用推土机推倒你的儿子弗雷德时是同一类生物吗？

Mothers see the angel in us because the angel is there.

母亲们在我们身上看到了天使，因为天使就在那里。

If it’s shown to the mother, the son has got an angel to show, hasn’t he?

如果把它展示给母亲看，儿子就得到了天使的展示，不是吗？

When a son cuts somebody’s throat the mother only sees it’s possible for a misguided angel to act like a devil—and she’s entirely right about that!”

当儿子割断某人的喉咙时，母亲只会看到一个被误导的天使有可能表现得像个魔鬼——她的这一点完全正确！”

Kinney laughed, and put his hand on his friend’s shoulder.

金尼笑了，把手放在朋友的肩膀上。

“I remember what a fellow you always were to argue,” he said.

“我记得你是一个经常争论的人，”他说。

“You mean Georgie Minafer is as much of an angel as any murderer is, and that Georgie’s mother is always right.”

“你的意思是乔吉·米纳弗和任何杀人犯一样都是天使，而乔吉的母亲总是对的。”

“I’m afraid she always has been,” Morgan said lightly.

“恐怕她一直都是，”摩根轻声说道。

The friendly hand remained upon his shoulder.

那只友好的手仍然搭在他的肩上。

“She was wrong once, old fellow.

“她曾经错了一次，老伙计。

At least, so it seemed to me.”

至少，在我看来是这样。”

“No,” said Morgan, a little awkwardly.

“不，”摩根有点尴尬地说。

“No—”

“不——”

Kinney relieved the slight embarrassment that had come upon both of them: he laughed again.

金尼缓解了他们俩身上的轻微尴尬：他又笑了。

“Wait till you know young Georgie a little better,” he said.

“等你更了解年轻的乔吉了，”他说。

“Something tells me you’re going to change your mind about his having an angel to show, if you see anything of him!”

“有件事告诉我，如果你看到他的任何东西，你就会改变对他有天使表演的看法！”

“You mean beauty’s in the eye of the beholder, and the angel is all in the eye of the mother.

“你的意思是情人眼里出西施，而天使则全在母亲眼里。

If you were a painter, Fred, you’d paint mothers with angels’ eyes holding imps in their laps.

弗雷德，如果你是一名画家，你会画出有着天使般眼睛的母亲，怀里抱着小鬼。

Me, I’ll stick to the Old Masters and the cherubs.”

我，我会坚持古典大师和小天使。”

Mr. Kinney looked at him musingly.

金尼先生若有所思地看着他。

“Somebody’s eyes must have been pretty angelic,” he said, “if they’ve been persuading you that Georgie Minafer is a cherub!”

“如果有人让你相信乔吉·米纳弗是个小天使，”他说，“他们的眼睛一定非常像天使！”

“They are,” said Morgan heartily.

“是的，”摩根由衷地说。

“They’re more angelic than ever.” And as a new flourish of music sounded overhead he threw away his cigarette, and jumped up briskly.

“他们比以往任何时候都更加天使般。”当一阵新的音乐在头顶响起时，他扔掉了香烟，轻快地跳了起来。

“Good-bye, I’ve got this dance with her.”

“再见，我要和她跳一支舞。”

“With whom?”

“和谁一起？”

“With Isabel!”

“和伊莎贝尔一起！”

The grizzled Mr. Kinney affected to rub his eyes.

头发花白的金尼先生假装揉了揉眼睛。

“It startles me, your jumping up like that to go and dance with Isabel Amberson!

“让我吃惊的是，你跳起来去和伊莎贝尔·安伯森跳舞！

Twenty years seem to have passed—but have they?

二十年似乎过去了——但是真的过去了吗？

Tell me, have you danced with poor old Fanny, too, this evening?”

告诉我，今晚你也和可怜的老范妮一起跳舞了吗？”

“Twice!”

“两次！”

“My Lord!” Kinney groaned, half in earnest.

“主啊！”金尼半认真地呻吟着。

“Old times starting all over again!

“旧时光重新开始！

My Lord!”

我的主啊！

“Old times?” Morgan laughed gaily from the doorway.

“旧时光？”摩根在门口欢快地笑了。

“Not a bit!

“一点也没有！

There aren’t any old times.

没有任何旧时光。

When times are gone they’re not old, they’re dead!

当时光流逝时，他们不是老了，而是死了！

There aren’t any times but new times!”

没有任何时代，只有新时代！”

And he vanished in such a manner that he seemed already to have begun dancing.

他消失得如此之快，就好像他已经开始跳舞一样。

Chapter VII

第七章

The appearance of Miss Lucy Morgan the next day, as she sat in George’s fast cutter, proved so charming that her escort was stricken to soft words instantly, and failed to control a poetic impulse.

第二天，露西·摩根小姐坐在乔治的快艇上，她的出现是如此迷人，以至于她的陪同人员立即被温柔的话语所震惊，无法控制诗意的冲动。

Her rich little hat was trimmed with black fur; her hair was almost as dark as the fur; a great boa of black fur was about her shoulders; her hands were vanished into a black muff; and George’s laprobe was black.

她那顶华丽的小帽子上装饰着黑色的皮毛。她的头发几乎和皮毛一样黑。她的肩膀上披着一条巨大的黑色毛皮围巾。她的双手消失在黑色的手筒里。乔治的腹布是黑色的。

“You look like—” he said.

“你看起来像——”他说。

“Your face looks like—it looks like a snowflake on a lump of coal.

“你的脸看起来——看起来就像一块煤上的雪花。

I mean a—a snowflake that would be a rose-leaf, too!”

我的意思是——一片雪花也会变成玫瑰叶！”

“Perhaps you’d better look at the reins,” she returned.

“也许你最好看看缰绳，”她回答道。

“We almost upset just then.”

“当时我们差点就心烦意乱了。”

George declined to heed this advice.

乔治拒绝听从这个建议。

“Because there’s too much pink in your cheeks for a snowflake,” he continued.

“因为你的脸颊上的粉红色对于雪花来说太多了，”他继续说道。

“What’s that fairy story about snow-white and rose-red—”

“那个关于雪白和玫瑰红的童话故事是什么——”

“We’re going pretty fast, Mr. Minafer!”

“我们进展得很快，米纳弗先生！”

“Well, you see, I’m only here for two weeks.”

“好吧，你看，我只在这里待两周。”

“I mean the sleigh!” she explained.

“我是说雪橇！”她解释道。

“We’re not the only people on the street, you know.”

“你知道，我们不是街上唯一的人。”

“Oh, _they’ll_ keep out of the way.”

“哦，他们会避开的。”

“That’s very patrician charioteering, but it seems to me a horse like this needs guidance.

“这是非常贵族式的驾驭战车，但在我看来，像这样的马需要指导。

I’m sure he’s going almost twenty miles an hour.”

我确信他的行驶速度几乎是二十英里每小时。”

“That’s nothing,” said George; but he consented to look forward again.

“那没什么，”乔治说。但他同意再次展望未来。

“He can trot under three minutes, all right.” He laughed.

“他可以在三分钟内小跑，好吧。”他笑了。

“I suppose your father thinks he can build a horseless carriage to go that fast!”

“我猜你父亲认为他能造一辆不用马拉的马车走得那么快！”

“They go that fast already, sometimes.”

“有时他们已经走得那么快了。”

“Yes,” said George; “they do—for about a hundred feet!

“是的，”乔治说。 “他们确实这么做了——大约一百英尺！

Then they give a yell and burn up.”

然后他们会大喊一声然后燃烧起来。”

Evidently she decided not to defend her father’s faith in horseless carriages, for she laughed, and said nothing.

显然，她决定不捍卫父亲对无马马车的信仰，因为她笑了，什么也没说。

The cold air was polka-dotted with snowflakes, and trembled to the loud, continuous jingling of sleighbells.

寒冷的空气中点缀着雪花，随着雪橇铃响亮而持续的叮当作响而颤抖。

Boys and girls, all aglow and panting jets of vapour, darted at the passing sleighs to ride on the runners, or sought to rope their sleds to any vehicle whatever, but the fleetest no more than just touched the flying cutter, though a hundred soggy mittens grasped for it, then reeled and whirled till sometimes the wearers of those daring mittens plunged flat in the snow and lay a-sprawl, reflecting.

男孩和女孩们，全身通红，气喘吁吁，冲向路过的雪橇，让他们骑在赛跑者身上，或者试图把他们的雪橇拴在任何交通工具上，但最快的也只是碰触到飞行的快艇，尽管一百只湿漉漉的手套抓住了它，然后旋转和旋转，直到有时那些勇敢的手套的佩戴者平躺在雪中，四肢摊开，反思。

For this was the holiday time, and all the boys and girls in town were out, most of them on National Avenue.

因为现在是假期，镇上所有的男孩女孩都出去了，其中大多数都在国家大道上。

But there came panting and chugging up that flat thoroughfare a thing which some day was to spoil all their sleigh-time merriment—save for the rashest and most disobedient.

但在那条平坦的大道上，气喘吁吁、嘎吱作响的声音传来，有一天，这会破坏他们所有的雪橇时光的欢乐——除了最鲁莽和最不听话的人。

It was vaguely like a topless surry, but cumbrous with unwholesome excrescences fore and aft, while underneath were spinning leather belts and something that whirred and howled and seemed to stagger.

它隐隐约约像一艘赤裸上身的苏里，但笨重，前后都有不健康的赘生物，而下面有旋转的皮带和一些呼呼呼啸着、似乎摇摇晃晃的东西。

The ride-stealers made no attempt to fasten their sleds to a contrivance so nonsensical and yet so fearsome.

偷乘者并没有试图将他们的雪橇固定在一个如此荒谬但又如此可怕的装置上。

Instead, they gave over their sport and concentrated all their energies in their lungs, so that up and down the street the one cry shrilled increasingly: “Git a hoss!

相反，他们放弃了运动，把所有的精力都集中在肺部，因此街道上和街道上的呼喊声越来越大：“快点！

Git a hoss!

来吧！

Git a hoss!

来吧！

Mister, why don’t you git a hoss?” But the mahout in charge, sitting solitary on the front seat, was unconcerned—he laughed, and now and then ducked a snowball without losing any of his good-nature.

先生，你怎么不找个马？”但负责的象夫独自坐在前座，并不关心——他笑着，时不时地躲开一个雪球，但丝毫不失他的好脾气。

It was Mr. Eugene Morgan who exhibited so cheerful a countenance between the forward visor of a deer-stalker cap and the collar of a fuzzy gray ulster.

尤金·摩根先生，戴着猎鹿帽的前帽和毛茸茸的灰色羊毛毡衣领，脸上露出如此愉快的表情。

“Git a hoss!” the children shrieked, and gruffer voices joined them.

“给我一个豪斯！”孩子们尖叫起来，粗鲁的声音加入了他们。

“Git a hoss!

“给我一个豪斯！

Git a hoss!

来吧！

Git a _hoss!_”

来个_hoss！_”

George Minafer was correct thus far: the twelve miles an hour of such a machine would never over-take George’s trotter.

到目前为止，乔治·米纳弗是正确的：这样一台机器每小时十二英里的速度永远不会超过乔治的小跑。

The cutter was already scurrying between the stone pillars at the entrance to Amberson Addition.

快艇已经在安伯森附加区入口处的石柱之间疾驰。

“That’s my grandfather’s,” said George, nodding toward the Amberson Mansion.

“那是我祖父的。”乔治一边说，一边朝安伯森宅邸点点头。

“I ought to know that!” Lucy exclaimed.

“我应该知道这一点！”露西惊呼道。

“We stayed there late enough last night: papa and I were almost the last to go.

“昨晚我们在那里待得很晚：爸爸和我几乎是最后一个走的。

He and your mother and Miss Fanny Minafer got the musicians to play another waltz when everybody else had gone downstairs and the fiddles were being put away in their cases.

当其他人都下楼、小提琴被收进箱子时，他和你的母亲以及范妮·米纳弗小姐让音乐家们又演奏了一首华尔兹。

Papa danced part of it with Miss Minafer and the rest with your mother.

爸爸和米纳弗小姐跳了一部分，其余的和你妈妈一起跳。

Miss Minafer’s your aunt, isn’t she?”

米纳弗小姐是你的姨妈，不是吗？”

“Yes; she lives with us.

“是的，她和我们住在一起。

I tease her a good deal.”

我经常取笑她。”

“What about?”

“那又怎样？”

“Oh, anything handy—whatever’s easy to tease an old maid about.”

“哦，任何方便的东西——任何容易取笑老处女的东西。”

“Doesn’t she mind?”

“她不介意吗？”

“She usually has sort of a grouch on me,” laughed George.

“她通常对我有点不满，”乔治笑着说。

“Nothing much.

“没什么。”

That’s our house just beyond grandfather’s.” He waved a sealskin gauntlet to indicate the house Major Amberson had built for Isabel as a wedding gift.

那是我们的房子，就在祖父的房子旁边。”他挥舞着海豹皮手套，示意安伯森少校为伊莎贝尔建造的房子作为结婚礼物。

“It’s almost the same as grandfather’s, only not as large and hasn’t got a regular ballroom.

“它和祖父的几乎一样，只是没有那么大，而且没有正规的舞厅。

We gave the dance, last night, at grandfather’s on account of the ballroom, and because I’m the only grandchild, you know.

昨晚，我们在祖父家举办了舞会，因为有舞厅，而且因为我是唯一的孙子，你知道。

Of course, some day that’ll be my house, though I expect my mother will most likely go on living where she does now, with father and Aunt Fanny.

当然，有一天那将成为我的房子，尽管我预计我的母亲很可能会继续住在她现在的地方，与父亲和范妮阿姨一起生活。

I suppose I’ll probably build a country house, too—somewhere East, I guess.” He stopped speaking, and frowned as they passed a closed carriage and pair.

我想我也可能会建造一座乡间别墅——我想是在东方的某个地方。”当他们经过一辆封闭的马车和一对时，他不再说话，皱起了眉头。

The body of this comfortable vehicle sagged slightly to one side; the paint was old and seamed with hundreds of minute cracks like little rivers on a black map; the coachman, a fat and elderly darky, seemed to drowse upon the box; but the open window afforded the occupants of the cutter a glimpse of a tired, fine old face, a silk hat, a pearl tie, and an astrachan collar, evidently out to take the air.

这辆舒适的车辆的车身略微向一侧下垂；油漆很旧，有数百条细小的裂缝，就像黑色地图上的小河一样。车夫是个又胖又黑的老人，似乎在车厢上打瞌睡。但开着的窗户让快艇上的乘客看到了一张疲惫而精致的老脸，戴着丝质帽子，系着珍珠领带，戴着阿斯特拉罕领子，显然是出去呼吸空气了。

“There’s your grandfather now,” said Lucy.

“现在是你的祖父，”露西说。

“Isn’t it?”

“不是吗？”

George’s frown was not relaxed.

乔治的眉头并没有放松。

“Yes, it is; and he ought to give that rat-trap away and sell those old horses.

“是的，是的；他应该把那个捕鼠器扔掉，卖掉那些老马。

They’re a disgrace, all shaggy—not even clipped.

它们是一种耻辱，浑身毛茸茸的——甚至没有修剪过。

I suppose he doesn’t notice it—people get awful funny when they get old; they seem to lose their self-respect, sort of.”

我想他没有注意到这一点——人老了就会变得非常有趣；他们似乎在某种程度上失去了自尊。”

“He seemed a real Brummell to me,” she said.

“对我来说，他似乎是一个真正的布鲁梅尔，”她说。

“Oh, he keeps up about what he wears, well enough, but—well, look at that!” He pointed to a statue of Minerva, one of the cast-iron sculptures Major Amberson had set up in opening the Addition years before.

“哦，他很注重自己的穿着，这很好，但是——好吧，看看那个！”他指着一尊密涅瓦雕像，这是安伯森少校几年前在扩建扩建时竖立的铸铁雕塑之一。

Minerva was intact, but a blackish streak descended unpleasantly from her forehead to the point of her straight nose, and a few other streaks were sketched in a repellent dinge upon the folds of her drapery.

米勒娃完好无损，但一道黑色的条纹令人不快地从她的额头一直延伸到她直挺的鼻尖，在她的窗帘褶皱上还画出了一些令人厌恶的条纹。

“That must be from soot,” said Lucy.

“那肯定是烟灰造成的，”露西说。

“There are so many houses around here.”

“这附近有很多房子。”

“Anyhow, somebody ought to see that these statues are kept clean.

“无论如何，应该有人确保这些雕像保持干净。

My grandfather owns a good many of these houses, I guess, for renting.

我猜，我祖父拥有很多这样的房子，供出租。

Of course, he sold most of the lots—there aren’t any vacant ones, and there used to be heaps of ’em when I was a boy.

当然，他卖掉了大部分土地——没有任何空的，当我还是个孩子的时候，那里曾经有很多空的。

Another thing I don’t think he ought to allow: a good many of these people bought big lots and they built houses on ’em; then the price of the land kept getting higher, and they’d sell part of their yards and let the people that bought it build houses on it to live in, till they haven’t hardly any of ’em got big, open yards any more, and it’s getting all too much built up.

我认为他不应该允许的另一件事是：这些人中的很多人购买了大片土地，并在上面建造了房屋；然后土地的价格不断上涨，他们会卖掉部分院子，让买它的人在上面盖房子住，直到他们几乎没有一个再有大的、开放的院子了，而且建筑得太多了。

The way it used to be, it was like a gentleman’s country estate, and that’s the way my grandfather ought to keep it.

它以前的样子就像一位绅士的乡村庄园，这就是我祖父应该保持的方式。

He lets these people take too many liberties: they do anything they want to.”

他让这些人有太多的自由：他们想做什么就做什么。”

“But how could he stop them?” Lucy asked, surely with reason.

“但是他怎么能阻止他们呢？”露西问，当然有道理。

“If he sold them the land, it’s theirs, isn’t it?”

“如果他把土地卖给他们，那就是他们的了，不是吗？”

George remained serene in the face of this apparently difficult question.

面对这个看似困难的问题，乔治仍然保持平静。

“He ought to have all the trades-people boycott the families that sell part of their yards that way.

“他应该让所有商人抵制那些以这种方式出售部分院子的家庭。

All he’d have to do would be to tell the trades-people they wouldn’t get any more orders from the family if they didn’t do it.”

他所要做的就是告诉商人，如果他们不这样做，他们就不会再从家族那里得到任何订单。”

“From ‘the family’?

“来自‘家族’？

What family?”

什么家族？”

“Our family,” said George, unperturbed.

“我们的家人，”乔治泰然自若地说。

“The Ambersons.”

“安伯森一家。”

“I see!” she murmured, and evidently she did see something that he did not, for, as she lifted her muff to her face, he asked:

“我懂了！”她低声说道，显然她确实看到了他没有看到的东西，因为当她把手袋举到脸上时，他问道：

“What are you laughing at now?”

“你现在笑什么？”

“Why?”

“为什么？”

“You always seem to have some little secret of your own to get happy over!”

“你似乎总是有一些自己的小秘密可以让你开心！”

“Always!” she exclaimed.

“总是！”她惊呼道。

“What a big word when we only met last night!”

“我们昨晚才见面，这句话真是太大了！”

“That’s another case of it,” he said, with obvious sincerity.

“那又是另外一个例子了，”他语气明显很真诚。

“One of the reasons I don’t like you—much!—is you’ve got that way of seeming quietly superior to everybody else.”

“我不喜欢你——非常不喜欢你！——的原因之一就是你总是给人一种看似比其他人都优越的感觉。”

“I!” she cried.

“我！”她哭了。

“I have?”

“我有？”

“Oh, you think you keep it sort of confidential to yourself, but it’s plain enough!

“哦，你以为你对自己保密，但这很明显！

I don’t believe in that kind of thing.”

我不相信那种事。”

“You don’t?”

“你不这么认为吗？”

“No,” said George emphatically.

“不，”乔治强调道。

“Not with me!

“不是和我一起！

I think the world’s like this: there’s a few people that their birth and position, and so on, puts them at the top, and they ought to treat each other entirely as equals.” His voice betrayed a little emotion as he added, “I wouldn’t speak like this to everybody.”

我觉得这个世界就是这样：有那么一些人，他们的出身、地位等等，让他们处于最顶端，他们之间就应该完全平等相待。”他的声音透露出一点情绪，他补充道：“我不会对每个人都这样说话。”

“You mean you’re confiding your deepest creed—or code, whatever it is—to me?”

“你的意思是你正在向我吐露你最深的信条——或者准则，不管它是什么？”

“Go on, make fun of it, then!” George said bitterly.

“那就开个玩笑吧！”乔治苦涩地说。

“You do think you’re terribly clever!

“你还真以为自己很聪明啊！

It makes me tired!”

这让我很累！”

“Well, as you don’t like my seeming ‘quietly superior,’ after this I’ll be noisily superior,” she returned cheerfully.

“好吧，既然你不喜欢我‘安静高人一等’的样子，那以后我就大声高人一等了。”她高兴地回答道。

“We aim to please!”

“我们的目标是取悦您！”

“I had a notion before I came for you today that we were going to quarrel,” he said.

“今天来找你之前，我就预感到我们会吵架，”他说。

“No, we won’t; it takes two!” She laughed and waved her muff toward a new house, not quite completed, standing in a field upon their right.

“不，我们不会；需要两个！”她笑着向一栋尚未完工的新房子挥动手筒，它矗立在他们右边的田野里。

They had passed beyond Amberson Addition, and were leaving the northern fringes of the town for the open country.

他们已经越过安伯森附加区，正离开城镇的北部边缘前往开阔的乡村。

“Isn’t that a beautiful house!” she exclaimed.

“这不是一栋漂亮的房子吗！”她惊呼道。

“Papa and I call it our Beautiful House.”

“爸爸和我称它为我们美丽的房子。”

George was not pleased.

乔治不高兴。

“Does it belong to you?”

“它是你的吗？”

“Of course not!

“当然不是！

Papa brought me out here the other day, driving in his machine, and we both loved it.

有一天，爸爸带我来这里，开着他的机器，我们都很喜欢。

It’s so spacious and dignified and plain.”

如此宽敞、庄重、朴素。”

“Yes, it’s plain enough!” George grunted.

“是的，很简单！”乔治咕哝道。

“Yet it’s lovely; the gray-green roof and shutters give just enough colour, with the trees, for the long white walls.

“但它很可爱；灰绿色的屋顶和百叶窗为长长的白色墙壁提供了足够的色彩，还有树木。

It seems to me the finest house I’ve seen in this part of the country.”

在我看来，这是我在这个国家的这个地区见过的最好的房子。”

George was outraged by an enthusiasm so ignorant—not ten minutes ago they had passed the Amberson Mansion.

乔治对如此无知的热情感到愤怒——不到十分钟前他们刚刚经过安伯森大厦。

“Is that a sample of your taste in architecture?” he asked.

“这可以体现你对建筑的品味吗？”他问道。

“Yes.

是的。

Why?”

为什么？

“Because it strikes me you better go somewhere and study the subject a little!”

“因为我觉得你最好去某个地方研究一下这个主题！”

Lucy looked puzzled.

露西看上去很困惑。

“What makes you have so much feeling about it?

“是什么让你有如此大的感触？

Have I offended you?”

我有冒犯你吗？”

“‘Offended’ nothing!” George returned brusquely.

“没有‘冒犯’任何事！”乔治粗暴地回来了。

“Girls usually think they know it all as soon as they’ve learned to dance and dress and flirt a little.

“女孩们通常认为一旦学会跳舞、穿衣和调情，她们就什么都知道了。

They never know anything about things like architecture, for instance.

例如，他们对建筑之类的事情一无所知。

That house is about as bum a house as any house I ever saw!”

那所房子和我见过的任何房子一样糟糕！”

“Why?”

“为什么？”

“Why?” George repeated.

“为什么？”乔治重复道。

“Did you ask me why?”

“你问我为什么吗？”

“Yes.”

“是的。”

“Well, for one thing—” he paused—“for one thing—well, just look at it!

“好吧，有一件事——”他停顿了一下——“有一件事——好吧，看看它！

I shouldn’t think you’d have to do any more than look at it if you’d ever given any attention to architecture.”

我认为如果你曾经关注过建筑，你除了看它之外不需要做任何其他事情。”

“What is the matter with its architecture, Mr. Minafer?”

“米纳弗先生，它的建筑有什么问题吗？”

“Well, it’s this way,” said George.

“嗯，就是这样，”乔治说。

“It’s like this.

“是这样的。

Well, for instance, that house—well, it was built like a town house.” He spoke of it in the past tense, because they had now left it far behind them—a human habit of curious significance.

嗯，比如说，那栋房子——嗯，它建得像联排别墅。”他用过去时态谈论它，因为他们现在已经把它远远抛在了身后——这是一种具有奇怪意义的人类习惯。

“It was like a house meant for a street in the city.

“这就像一座建在城市街道上的房子。

What kind of a house was that for people of any taste to build out here in the country?”

对于任何品味的人来说，在乡下建造什么样的房子？”

“But papa says it’s built that way on purpose.

“但爸爸说它是故意这样建造的。

There are a lot of other houses being built in this direction, and papa says the city’s coming out this way; and in a year or two that house will be right in town.”

还有很多其他的房子是朝这个方向建造的，爸爸说这座城市正朝这个方向发展。一两年后，那栋房子就会在城里了。”

“It was a bum house, anyhow,” said George crossly.

“无论如何，那是一座破烂的房子，”乔治生气地说。

“I don’t even know the people that are building it.

“我什至不认识建造它的人。

They say a lot of riffraff come to town every year nowadays and there’s other riffraff that have always lived here, and have made a little money, and act as if they owned the place.

他们说现在每年都有很多痞子进城，还有其他痞子一直住在这里，赚了点钱，表现得好像他们拥有这个地方一样。

Uncle Sydney was talking about it yesterday: he says he and some of his friends are organizing a country club, and already some of these riffraff are worming into it—people he never heard of at all!

悉尼叔叔昨天谈到了这件事：他说他和他的一些朋友正在组织一个乡村俱乐部，而其中一些痞子已经混进去了——那些他根本没听说过的人！

Anyhow, I guess it’s pretty clear you don’t know a great deal about architecture.”

不管怎样，我想很明显你对建筑了解不多。”

She demonstrated the completeness of her amiability by laughing.

她用笑来表现出她的和蔼可亲。

“I’ll know something about the North Pole before long,” she said, “if we keep going much farther in this direction!”

“我很快就会对北极有所了解，”她说，“如果我们继续朝这个方向走得更远！”

At this he was remorseful.

想到这里，他就后悔了。

“All right, we’ll turn, and drive south awhile till you get warmed up again.

“好吧，我们转身，向南行驶一段时间，直到你再次热身为止。

I expect we have been going against the wind about long enough.

我想我们已经逆风行驶了足够长的时间了。

Indeed, I’m sorry!”

确实，对不起！”

He said, “Indeed, I’m sorry,” in a nice way, and looked very strikingly handsome when he said it, she thought.

他用一种友善的方式说：“确实，我很抱歉”，她想，当他说这句话的时候，他看起来非常英俊。

No doubt it is true that there is more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner repented than over all the saints who consistently remain holy, and the rare, sudden gentlenesses of arrogant people have infinitely more effect than the continual gentleness of gentle people.

毫无疑问，天堂里对一个悔改的罪人比对所有始终保持圣洁的圣徒更喜乐，这是事实，傲慢的人罕见的、突然的温柔比温柔的人持续的温柔更有效。

Arrogance turned gentle melts the heart; and Lucy gave her companion a little sidelong, sunny nod of acknowledgment.

傲慢变得温柔，融化人心；露西向她的同伴微笑着点头致意。

George was dazzled by the quick glow of her eyes, and found himself at a loss for something to say.

乔治被她眼睛里迅速闪烁的光芒弄得眼花缭乱，发现自己不知道该说什么。

Having turned about, he kept his horse to a walk, and at this gait the sleighbells tinkled but intermittently.

转身后，他策马继续前行，在这个步态中，雪橇铃断断续续地叮当作响。

Gleaming wanly through the whitish vapour that kept rising from the trotter’s body and flanks, they were like tiny fog-bells, and made the only sounds in a great winter silence.

它们像小雾铃一样，透过从马蹄的身体和胁腹不断升起的白色蒸汽，发出苍白的光芒，在冬日的寂静中发出唯一的声音。

The white road ran between lonesome rail fences; and frozen barnyards beyond the fences showed sometimes a harrow left to rust, with its iron seat half filled with stiffened snow, and sometimes an old dead buggy, its wheels forever set, it seemed, in the solid ice of deep ruts.

白色的道路穿过孤独的铁栅栏；栅栏外冰冻的谷仓有时会出现一把生锈的耙子，铁座上一半装满了僵硬的雪，有时还有一辆破旧的马车，它的轮子似乎永远陷在深深的车辙的坚固冰里。

Chickens scratched the metallic earth with an air of protest, and a masterless ragged colt looked up in sudden horror at the mild tinkle of the passing bells, then blew fierce clouds of steam at the sleigh.

鸡们带着抗议的神情抓挠着金属地面，一匹无主的破烂小马突然惊恐地抬头看着路过的铃声，然后向雪橇喷出猛烈的蒸汽云。

The snow no longer fell, and far ahead, in a grayish cloud that lay upon the land, was the town.

雪不再飘落，前方远处，大地上笼罩着一层灰色的云彩，那是一座城镇。

Lucy looked at this distant thickening reflection.

露西看着远处这个越来越浓重的倒影。

“When we get this far out we can see there must be quite a little smoke hanging over the town,” she said.

“当我们走到这么远的地方时，我们可以看到镇上空一定有相当多的烟雾，”她说。

“I suppose that’s because it’s growing.

“我想那是因为它正在增长。

As it grows bigger it seems to get ashamed of itself, so it makes this cloud and hides in it.

随着它越来越大，它似乎对自己感到羞愧，所以它制造了这朵云并躲在里面。

Papa says it used to be a bit nicer when he lived here: he always speaks of it differently—he always has a gentle look, a particular tone of voice, I’ve noticed.

爸爸说他以前住在这里的时候情况要好一些：他总是用不同的方式谈论它——我注意到，他总是有一种温和的表情，一种特殊的语气。

He must have been very fond of it.

他一定非常喜欢它。

It must have been a lovely place: everybody must have been so jolly.

那一定是一个可爱的地方：每个人一定都很快乐。

From the way he talks, you’d think life here then was just one long midsummer serenade.

从他说话的方式来看，你可能会认为这里的生活只是一首漫长的仲夏小夜曲。

He declares it was always sunshine, that the air wasn’t like the air anywhere else—that, as he remembers it, there always seemed to be gold-dust in the air.

他宣称这里总是阳光明媚，空气与其他地方的空气不同——据他记忆，空气中似乎总是有金粉。

I doubt it!

我对此表示怀疑！

I think it doesn’t seem to be duller air to him now just on account of having a little soot in it sometimes, but probably because he was twenty years younger then.

我想，现在的空气对他来说似乎并不单调，只是因为有时里面有一点烟灰，而可能是因为那时他年轻了二十岁。

It seems to me the gold-dust he thinks was here is just his being young that he remembers.

在我看来，他认为这里的金粉只是他记忆中的年轻时光。

I think it was just youth.

我想这只是青春。

It is pretty pleasant to be young, isn’t it?” She laughed absently, then appeared to become wistful.

年轻真好，不是吗？”她心不在焉地笑了笑，然后显得若有所思。

“I wonder if we really do enjoy it as much as we’ll look back and think we did!

“我想知道我们是否真的像我们回想起来那样享受它！

I don’t suppose so.

我不这么认为。

Anyhow, for my part I feel as if I must be missing something about it, somehow, because I don’t ever seem to be thinking about what’s happening at the present moment; I’m always looking forward to something—thinking about things that will happen when I’m older.”

不管怎样，就我而言，我感觉好像我一定错过了一些事情，不知何故，因为我似乎从来没有想过目前正在发生的事情;我总是期待一些事情——思考当我长大后会发生的事情。”

“You’re a funny girl,” George said gently.

“你是个有趣的女孩，”乔治温柔地说。

“But your voice sounds pretty nice when you think and talk along together like that!”

“不过你们这样一起思考、一起说话的时候，你的声音听起来很好听！”

The horse shook himself all over, and the impatient sleighbells made his wish audible.

马全身摇晃，不耐烦的雪橇铃让他的愿望听得见。

Accordingly, George tightened the reins, and the cutter was off again at a three-minute trot, no despicable rate of speed.

于是，乔治拉紧了缰绳，快艇又以三分钟的小跑速度出发了，速度并不卑鄙。

It was not long before they were again passing Lucy’s Beautiful House, and here George thought fit to put an appendix to his remark.

不久之后，他们又经过了露西美丽的房子，乔治认为在这里应该为他的话添加一个附录。

“You’re a funny girl, and you know a lot—but I don’t believe you know much about architecture!”

“你是个有趣的女孩，而且你知道很多——但我不相信你对建筑了解很多！”

Coming toward them, black against the snowy road, was a strange silhouette.

一个奇怪的身影向他们走来，在雪路的映衬下呈黑色。

It approached moderately and without visible means of progression, so the matter seemed from a distance; but as the cutter shortened the distance, the silhouette was revealed to be Mr. Morgan’s horseless carriage, conveying four people atop: Mr. Morgan with George’s mother beside him, and, in the rear seat, Miss Fanny Minafer and the Honourable George Amberson.

它接近得很慢，没有明显的进展方式，所以这件事看起来很遥远。但当快艇缩短距离时，轮廓被揭示为摩根先生的无马马车，上面载着四个人：摩根先生和乔治的母亲在他旁边，后座是范妮·米纳弗小姐和乔治·安伯森阁下。

All four seemed to be in the liveliest humour, like high-spirited people upon a new adventure; and Isabel waved her handkerchief dashingly as the cutter flashed by them.

四人看上去都心情愉快，就像意气风发的人即将踏上新的冒险之旅。当刀具从他们身边闪过时，伊莎贝尔潇洒地挥舞着她的手帕。

“For the Lord’s sake!” George gasped.

“看在主的份上！”乔治喘着气。

“Your mother’s a dear,” said Lucy.

“你妈妈是个亲爱的人，”露西说。

“And she does wear the most bewitching _things!_ She looked like a Russian princess, though I doubt if they’re that handsome.”

“她确实穿着最迷人的东西！她看起来像一位俄罗斯公主，尽管我怀疑它们是否有那么英俊。”

George said nothing; he drove on till they had crossed Amberson Addition and reached the stone pillars at the head of National Avenue.

乔治什么也没说。他继续行驶，直到穿过安伯森附加区，到达国家大道尽头的石柱。

There he turned.

他转过身来。

“Let’s go back and take another look at that old sewing-machine,” he said.

“我们回去再看看那台旧缝纫机吧，”他说。

“It certainly is the weirdest, craziest—”

“这确实是最奇怪、最疯狂的——”

He left the sentence unfinished, and presently they were again in sight of the old sewing-machine.

他的话还没说完，不久他们又看到了那台旧缝纫机。

George shouted mockingly.

乔治嘲笑地喊道。

Alas!

唉！

three figures stood in the road, and a pair of legs, with the toes turned up, indicated that a fourth figure lay upon its back in the snow, beneath a horseless carriage that had decided to need a horse.

路上站着三个人影，一双脚尖朝上，表明第四个人影仰面躺在雪地里，在一辆没有马拉的马车下面，而这辆马车决定需要一匹马。

George became vociferous with laughter, and coming up at his trotter’s best gait, snow spraying from runners and every hoof, swerved to the side of the road and shot by, shouting, “Git a hoss!

乔治哈哈大笑起来，以他最好的步态走起，雪花从跑步者和每只蹄子上喷出，转向路边，疾驰而过，喊道：“快点！

Git a hoss!

来吧！

Git a hoss!”

来一发！”

Three hundred yards away he turned and came back, racing; leaning out as he passed, to wave jeeringly at the group about the disabled machine: “Git a hoss!

三百码外，他转身又跑了回来。当他经过时，他探出身子，嘲笑地向一群关于机器故障的人挥手：“滚蛋！

Git a hoss!

来吧！

Git a—”

给我一个——”

The trotter had broken into a gallop, and Lucy cried a warning: “Be careful!” she said.

小马突然狂奔起来，露西大声警告道：“小心！”她说。

“Look where you’re driving!

“看看你开车去哪儿了！

There’s a ditch on that side.

那边有一条沟。

_Look_—”

_看_——”

George turned too late; the cutter’s right runner went into the ditch and snapped off; the little sleigh upset, and, after dragging its occupants some fifteen yards, left them lying together in a bank of snow.

乔治转身太晚了；快艇的右滑轮进入沟渠并折断；小雪橇翻倒了，把乘客拖了大约十五码后，把他们一起躺在了雪堆里。

Then the vigorous young horse kicked himself free of all annoyances, and disappeared down the road, galloping cheerfully.

然后，那匹精力充沛的小马一脚踢开所有的烦恼，欢快地驰骋在路上消失了。

Chapter VIII

第八章

When George regained some measure of his presence of mind, Miss Lucy Morgan’s cheek, snowy and cold, was pressing his nose slightly to one side; his right arm was firmly about her neck; and a monstrous amount of her fur boa seemed to mingle with an equally unplausible quantity of snow in his mouth.

当乔治恢复一定程度的冷静时，露西·摩根小姐冰冷冰雪的脸颊正把他的鼻子轻轻压向一侧；他的右臂牢牢地搂住了她的脖子。她那巨大的毛皮围巾似乎与他嘴里同样多得令人难以置信的雪混合在一起。

He was confused, but conscious of no objection to any of these juxtapositions.

他很困惑，但意识到并不反对任何这些并置。

She was apparently uninjured, for she sat up, hatless, her hair down, and said mildly:

她显然没有受伤，因为她坐了起来，没戴帽子，头发垂下来，温和地说：

“Good heavens!”

“天哪！”

Though her father had been under his machine when they passed, he was the first to reach them.

尽管他们经过时她父亲就在他的机器下面，但他是第一个到达他们身边的。

He threw himself on his knees beside his daughter, but found her already laughing, and was reassured.

他跪在女儿身边，发现她已经笑了，这才放心了。

“They’re all right,” he called to Isabel, who was running toward them, ahead of her brother and Fanny Minafer.

“他们都没事，”他对伊莎贝尔喊道，伊莎贝尔在她哥哥和范妮·米纳弗前面跑向他们。

“This snowbank’s a feather bed—nothing the matter with them at all.

“这个雪堆就像一个羽毛床——它们根本没有问题。

Don’t look so pale!”

别显得这么苍白！”

“Georgie!” she gasped.

“乔吉！”她喘着气。

“_Georgie!_”

“_乔吉！_”

Georgie was on his feet, snow all over him.

乔吉站了起来，浑身都是雪。

“Don’t make a fuss, mother!

“妈妈别闹了！

Nothing’s the matter.

没什么问题。

That darned silly horse—”

那匹该死的傻马——”

Sudden tears stood in Isabel’s eyes.

伊莎贝尔的眼里突然涌出泪水。

“To see you down underneath—dragging—oh—” Then with shaking hands she began to brush the snow from him.

“看到你在下面——拖着——哦——”然后她用颤抖的双手开始掸去他身上的雪。

“Let me alone,” he protested.

“别打扰我，”他抗议道。

“You’ll ruin your gloves.

“你会毁掉你的手套的。

You’re getting snow all over you, and—”

你身上都沾满了雪，而且——”

“No, no!” she cried.

“不，不！”她哭了。

“You’ll catch cold; you mustn’t catch cold!” And she continued to brush him.

“你会着凉的；你可别着凉了！”她继续给他刷毛。

Amberson had brought Lucy’s hat; Miss Fanny acted as lady’s-maid; and both victims of the accident were presently restored to about their usual appearance and condition of apparel.

安伯森带来了露西的帽子。范妮小姐担任女仆。事故中的两名受害者目前都已恢复到平常的样子和服装状况。

In fact, encouraged by the two older gentlemen, the entire party, with one exception, decided that the episode was after all a merry one, and began to laugh about it.

事实上，在两位年长先生的鼓励下，除了一个例外，整个聚会都认为这件事毕竟是一件快乐的事，并开始大笑起来。

But George was glummer than the December twilight now swiftly closing in.

但乔治的心情比十二月的黄昏还要阴沉。

“That darned horse!” he said.

“那该死的马！”他说。

“I wouldn’t bother about Pendennis, Georgie,” said his uncle.

“我不会为潘丹尼斯操心，乔吉，”他叔叔说。

“You can send a man out for what’s left of the cutter tomorrow, and Pendennis will gallop straight home to his stable: he’ll be there a long while before we will, because all we’ve got to depend on to get us home is Gene Morgan’s broken-down chafing-dish yonder.”

“明天你可以派一个人去拿剩下的切割机，潘丹尼斯会直接跑回他的马厩：他会比我们早到那里，因为我们回家只能依靠吉恩·摩根那只坏了的火锅。”

They were approaching the machine as he spoke, and his friend, again underneath it, heard him.

当他说话时，他们正在接近机器，他的朋友又在机器下面，听到了他的声音。

He emerged, smiling.

他出现了，微笑着。

“She’ll go,” he said.

“她会走的，”他说。

“What!”

“什么！”

“All aboard!”

“全部上车！”

He offered his hand to Isabel.

他向伊莎贝尔伸出了手。

She was smiling but still pale, and her eyes, in spite of the smile, kept upon George in a shocked anxiety.

她微笑着，但脸色仍然苍白，尽管她微笑着，但她的眼睛仍然带着震惊的焦虑盯着乔治。

Miss Fanny had already mounted to the rear seat, and George, after helping Lucy Morgan to climb up beside his aunt, was following.

范妮小姐已经坐到了后座上，乔治扶着露西·摩根爬到了姨妈身边，也跟在后面。

Isabel saw that his shoes were light things of patent leather, and that snow was clinging to them.

伊莎贝尔看到他的鞋子是漆皮制成的，很轻，上面还粘着雪。

She made a little rush toward him, and, as one of his feet rested on the iron step of the machine, in mounting, she began to clean the snow from his shoe with her almost aerial lace handkerchief.

她冲向他，当他的一只脚踩在机器的铁台阶上时，她开始用她那几乎是空中的蕾丝手帕清理他鞋子上的积雪。

“You mustn’t catch cold!” she cried.

“你可别着凉了！”她哭了。

“Stop that!” George shouted, and furiously withdrew his foot.

“别这样！”乔治大喊一声，猛地收回了脚。

“Then stamp the snow off,” she begged.

“那就把雪踩掉吧，”她恳求道。

“You mustn’t ride with wet feet.”

“你不能湿着脚骑车。”

“They’re not!” George roared, thoroughly outraged.

“他们不是！”乔治怒吼一声，彻底愤怒了。

“For heaven’s sake get in!

“看在上帝的份上，进来吧！

You’re standing in the snow yourself.

你自己就站在雪地里。

Get in!”

进来！”

Isabel consented, turning to Morgan, whose habitual expression of apprehensiveness was somewhat accentuated.

伊莎贝尔同意了，转向摩根，摩根惯常的忧虑表情有些加重。

He climbed up after her, George Amberson having gone to the other side.

他跟着她爬了上去，乔治·安伯森已经走到了另一边。

“You’re the same Isabel I used to know!” he said in a low voice.

“你还是我以前认识的伊莎贝尔！”他低声说道。

“You’re a divinely ridiculous woman.”

“你真是个可笑的女人。”

“Am I, Eugene?” she said, not displeased.

“我是吗，尤金？”她说道，并没有不高兴。

“‘Divinely’ and ‘ridiculous’ just counterbalance each other, don’t they?

“‘神圣’和‘荒谬’正好是相互抵消的，不是吗？

Plus one and minus one equal nothing; so you mean I’m nothing in particular?”

加一和减一等于什么；所以你的意思是我没什么特别的？”

“No,” he answered, tugging at a lever.

“不，”他回答道，拉着一根杠杆。

“That doesn’t seem to be precisely what I meant.

“这似乎不是我的意思。

There!” This exclamation referred to the subterranean machinery, for dismaying sounds came from beneath the floor, and the vehicle plunged, then rolled noisily forward.

那里！”这声惊呼指的是地下机器，因为地板下面传来令人惊愕的声音，车辆猛地一陷，然后大声向前滚动。

“Behold!” George Amberson exclaimed.

“看哪！”乔治·安伯森惊呼道。

“She does move!

“她确实动了！

It must be another accident.”

这一定又是一场意外。”

“Accident?” Morgan shouted over the din.

“事故？”摩根盖过喧嚣大声喊道。

“No!

“不！

She breathes, she stirs; she seems to feel a thrill of life along her keel!” And he began to sing “The Star Spangled Banner.”

她呼吸，她动弹；她似乎在龙骨上感受到了生命的快感！”他开始唱《星条旗永不落》。

Amberson joined him lustily, and sang on when Morgan stopped.

安伯森精力充沛地加入了他，当摩根停下来时，安伯森继续唱着。

The twilight sky cleared, discovering a round moon already risen; and the musical congressman hailed this bright presence with the complete text and melody of “The Danube River.”

暮色天色放晴，一轮圆月已升起；这位音乐议员用《多瑙河》的完整歌词和旋律来赞扬这位明亮的存在。

His nephew, behind, was gloomy.

他的侄子在后面，脸色阴沉。

He had overheard his mother’s conversation with the inventor: it seemed curious to him that this Morgan, of whom he had never heard until last night, should be using the name “Isabel” so easily; and George felt that it was not just the thing for his mother to call Morgan “Eugene;” the resentment of the previous night came upon George again.

他无意中听到了母亲与发明家的谈话：他觉得奇怪的是，这个直到昨晚他才听说过的摩根竟然如此轻易地使用了“伊莎贝尔”这个名字。乔治觉得，称摩根为“尤金”不仅仅是他母亲的事；昨晚的怨恨再次涌上乔治的心头。

Meanwhile, his mother and Morgan continued their talk; but he could no longer hear what they said; the noise of the car and his uncle’s songful mood prevented.

与此同时，他的母亲和摩根继续谈话。但他再也听不到他们在说什么了。汽车的噪音和叔叔的歌声阻止了他。

He marked how animated Isabel seemed; it was not strange to see his mother so gay, but it was strange that a man not of the family should be the cause of her gaiety.

他注意到伊莎贝尔看起来多么活跃。看到他的母亲如此快乐并不奇怪，但奇怪的是，一个不属于家庭的男人竟然让她如此快乐。

And George sat frowning.

乔治皱着眉头坐着。

Fanny Minafer had begun to talk to Lucy.

范妮·米纳弗开始和露西说话。

“Your father wanted to prove that his horseless carriage would run, even in the snow,” she said.

“你父亲想证明他的无马马车即使在雪地里也能行驶，”她说。

“It really does, too.”

“也确实如此。”

“Of course!”

“当然！”

“It’s so interesting!

“太有趣了！

He’s been telling us how he’s going to change it.

他一直在告诉我们他将如何改变它。

He says he’s going to have wheels all made of rubber and blown up with air.

他说他将拥有全部由橡胶制成并充气的轮子。

I don’t understand what he means at all; I should think they’d explode—but Eugene seems to be very confident.

我完全不明白他的意思；我认为他们会爆炸——但尤金似乎非常有信心。

He always was confident, though.

但他始终充满信心。

It seems so like old times to hear him talk!”

听他说话就像是从前一样！”

She became thoughtful, and Lucy turned to George.

她若有所思，露西转向乔治。

“You tried to swing underneath me and break the fall for me when we went over,” she said.

“当我们翻倒时，你试图在我身下荡来荡去，帮助我避免跌倒，”她说。

“I knew you were doing that, and—it was nice of you.”

“我知道你会这么做，而且——你真是太好了。”

“Wasn’t any fall to speak of,” he returned brusquely.

“没什么可说的，”他粗暴地回答道。

“Couldn’t have hurt either of us.”

“不可能伤害我们任何一个。”

“Still it was friendly of you—and awfully quick, too.

“不过你还是很友好——而且速度也非常快。

I’ll not—I’ll not forget it!”

我不会——我不会忘记！”

Her voice had a sound of genuineness, very pleasant; and George began to forget his annoyance with her father.

她的声音听起来很真诚，非常好听。乔治开始忘记他对她父亲的烦恼。

This annoyance of his had not been alleviated by the circumstance that neither of the seats of the old sewing-machine was designed for three people, but when his neighbour spoke thus gratefully, he no longer minded the crowding—in fact, it pleased him so much that he began to wish the old sewing-machine would go even slower.

旧缝纫机的两个座位都不是为三个人设计的，这并没有减轻他的烦恼，但当他的邻居如此感激地说话时，他不再介意拥挤——事实上，这让他很高兴，他开始希望旧缝纫机走得慢一点。

And she had spoken no word of blame for his letting that darned horse get the cutter into the ditch.

对于他让那匹该死的马把割刀掉进沟里的事，她没有说任何责备的话。

George presently addressed her hurriedly, almost tremulously, speaking close to her ear:

乔治立即贴近她的耳边，急促地、几乎是颤抖地对她说话：

“I forgot to tell you something: you’re pretty nice!

“我忘了告诉你一件事：你真好！

I thought so the first second I saw you last night.

昨晚我见到你的第一秒我就是这么想的。

I’ll come for you tonight and take you to the Assembly at the Amberson Hotel.

今晚我会来接您，带您去安伯森酒店参加集会。

You’re going, aren’t you?”

你要去，是吗？”

“Yes, but I’m going with papa and the Sharons.

“是的，但我要和爸爸和沙龙一家一起去。

I’ll see you there.”

我会在那里见到你。”

“Looks to me as if you were awfully conventional,” George grumbled; and his disappointment was deeper than he was willing to let her see—though she probably did see.

“在我看来，你似乎非常传统，”乔治抱怨道。他的失望之情比他愿意让她看到的还要深——尽管她可能确实看到了。

“Well, we’ll dance the cotillion together, anyhow.”

“好吧，无论如何，我们都会一起跳舞会。”

“I’m afraid not.

“恐怕不是。

I promised Mr. Kinney.”

我答应过金尼先生。”

“What!” George’s tone was shocked, as at incredible news.

“什么！”乔治的语气很震惊，就像听到了令人难以置信的消息一样。

“Well, you could break _that_ engagement, I guess, if you wanted to!

“好吧，我想，如果你愿意的话，你可以解除婚约！

Girls always can get out of things when they want to.

女孩们总是能在她们想要的时候摆脱困境。

Won’t you?”

你不会吗？

“I don’t think so.”

“我不这么认为。”

“Why not?”

“为什么不呢？”

“Because I promised him.

“因为我答应过他。

Several days ago.”

几天前。”

George gulped, and lowered his pride, “I don’t—oh, look here!

乔治咽了口口水，放下了骄傲，“我不——哦，看这里！

I only want to go to that thing tonight to get to see something of you; and if you don’t dance the cotillion with me, how can I?

我今晚想去那件事只是为了见见你；如果你不和我一起跳舞会，我怎么能？

I’ll only be here two weeks, and the others have got all the rest of your visit to see you.

我只会在这里呆两周，其他人在你剩下的时间里都可以来看望你。

_Won’t_ you do it, please?”

请你_不_这样做吗？”

“I couldn’t.”

“我不能。”

“See here!” said the stricken George.

“看这里！”受伤的乔治说道。

“If you’re going to decline to dance that cotillion with me simply because you’ve promised a—a—a miserable red-headed outsider like Fred Kinney, why we might as well quit!”

“如果你仅仅因为答应了一个——一个——像弗雷德·金尼这样的可怜的红发局外人，就拒绝和我一起跳舞，那我们还不如退出呢！”

“Quit what?”

“戒掉什么？”

“You know perfectly well what I mean,” he said huskily.

“你完全明白我的意思，”他沙哑地说。

“I don’t.”

“我不知道。”

“Well, you ought to!”

“嗯，你应该这么做！”

“But I don’t at all!”

“但我根本不知道！”

George, thoroughly hurt, and not a little embittered, expressed himself in a short outburst of laughter: “Well, I ought to have seen it!”

乔治彻底受伤了，而且还带着不小的怨恨，他突然大笑起来：“好吧，我应该看到它！”

“Seen what?”

“看到什么了？”

“That you might turn out to be a girl who’d like a fellow of the red-headed Kinney sort.

“你可能会成为一个喜欢红发金尼那样的男人的女孩。

I ought to have seen it from the first!”

我一开始就应该看到的！”

Lucy bore her disgrace lightly.

露西对她的耻辱毫不在意。

“Oh, dancing a cotillion with a person doesn’t mean that you like him—but I don’t see anything in particular the matter with Mr. Kinney.

“哦，和一个人一起跳舞并不意味着你喜欢他——但我不认为金尼先生有什么特别的问题。

What is?”

什么是？

“If you don’t see anything the matter with him for yourself,” George responded, icily, “I don’t think pointing it out would help you.

“如果你自己没有发现他有什么问题，”乔治冷冷地回答，“我认为指出这一点对你没有帮助。

You probably wouldn’t understand.”

你可能不会明白。”

“You might try,” she suggested.

“你可以尝试一下，”她建议道。

“Of course I’m a stranger here, and if people have done anything wrong or have something unpleasant about them, I wouldn’t have any way of knowing it, just at first.

“当然，我是这里的陌生人，如果人们做了什么错事或者有什么不愉快的事情，我一开始就没有任何办法知道。

If poor Mr. Kinney—”

如果可怜的金尼先生——”

“I prefer not to discuss it,” said George curtly.

“我不想讨论这个问题，”乔治简短地说。

“He’s an enemy of mine.”

“他是我的敌人。”

“Why?”

“为什么？”

“I prefer not to discuss it.”

“我不想讨论这个问题。”

“Well, but—”

“好吧，但是——”

“I prefer not to discuss it!”

“我不想讨论这个！”

“Very well.” She began to hum the air of the song which Mr. George Amberson was now discoursing, “O moon of my delight that knows no wane”—and there was no further conversation on the back seat.

“很好。”她开始哼起乔治·安伯森先生现在正在讲的那首歌：“啊，我喜悦的月亮，永不衰落”——后座上没有再说话。

They had entered Amberson Addition, and the moon of Mr. Amberson’s delight was overlaid by a slender Gothic filagree; the branches that sprang from the shade trees lining the street.

他们已经进入了安伯森附加区，安伯森先生的喜悦之月被细长的哥特式金丝覆盖。从街道两旁的遮荫树上伸出的树枝。

Through the windows of many of the houses rosy lights were flickering; and silver tinsel and evergreen wreaths and brilliant little glass globes of silver and wine colour could be seen, and glimpses were caught of Christmas trees, with people decking them by firelight—reminders that this was Christmas Eve.

许多房屋的窗户里都闪烁着玫瑰色的灯光。银色金属丝、常绿花环、银色和酒色的闪亮小玻璃球随处可见，人们还瞥见圣诞树，人们用火光装饰它们——提醒人们这是平安夜。

The ride-stealers had disappeared from the highway, though now and then, over the gasping and howling of the horseless carriage, there came a shrill jeer from some young passer-by upon the sidewalk:

偷车贼已经从高速公路上消失了，尽管在无马马车的喘息声和嚎叫声中，人行道上时不时地传来一些年轻路人的尖锐嘲笑声：

“Mister, fer heaven’s sake go an’ git a hoss!

“先生，看在上帝的份上，去拿一匹马吧！

Git a hoss!

来吧！

_Git_ a hoss!”

_Git_一匹马！”

The contrivance stopped with a heart-shaking jerk before Isabel’s house.

这个装置在伊莎贝尔家门口突然停止了。

The gentlemen jumped down, helping Isabel and Fanny to descend; there were friendly leavetakings—and one that was not precisely friendly.

先生们跳了下来，帮助伊莎贝尔和范妮下降。有友好的告别——也有不完全友好的告别。

“It’s ‘au revoir,’ till to-night, isn’t it?” Lucy asked, laughing.

“今晚就到此为止了，不是吗？”露西笑着问道。

“Good afternoon!” said George, and he did not wait, as his relatives did, to see the old sewing machine start briskly down the street, toward the Sharons’; its lighter load consisting now of only Mr. Morgan and his daughter.

“下午好！”乔治说，他没有像他的亲戚那样等着看那台旧缝纫机沿着街道轻快地启动，驶向沙龙家。较轻的负载现在只剩下摩根先生和他的女儿了。

George went into the house at once.

乔治立刻进了屋。

He found his father reading the evening paper in the library.

他发现父亲正在图书馆看晚报。

“Where are your mother and your Aunt Fanny?” Mr. Minafer inquired, not looking up.

“你妈妈和范妮阿姨在哪儿？”米纳弗先生没有抬头问道。

“They’re coming,” said his son; and, casting himself heavily into a chair, stared at the fire.

“他们来了，”他的儿子说。然后，他重重地坐到椅子上，盯着炉火。

His prediction was verified a few moments later; the two ladies came in cheerfully, unfastening their fur cloaks.

几分钟后，他的预测得到了证实。两位女士兴高采烈地走进来，解开她们的毛皮斗篷。

“It’s all right, Georgie,” said Isabel.

“没关系，乔吉，”伊莎贝尔说。

“Your Uncle George called to us that Pendennis got home safely.

“你的乔治叔叔打电话给我们说潘丹尼斯已经安全回家了。

Put your shoes close to the fire, dear, or else go and change them.” She went to her husband and patted him lightly on the shoulder, an action which George watched with sombre moodiness.

亲爱的，把你的鞋子放在靠近火的地方，否则就去换吧。”她走到丈夫身边，轻轻拍拍他的肩膀，乔治忧郁地看着这一举动。

“You might dress before long,” she suggested.

“你很快就可以穿衣服了，”她建议道。

“We’re all going to the Assembly, after dinner, aren’t we?

“晚饭后我们都会去参加大会，不是吗？

Brother George said he’d go with us.”

乔治弟兄说他会和我们一起去。”

“Look here,” said George abruptly.

“看这里，”乔治突然说道。

“How about this man Morgan and his old sewing-machine?

“摩根这个人和他的旧缝纫机怎么样？

Doesn’t he want to get grandfather to put money into it?

他不是想让爷爷投钱进去吗？

Isn’t he trying to work Uncle George for that?

他不是想为乔治叔叔工作吗？

Isn’t that what he’s up to?”

这不是他的目的吗？”

It was Miss Fanny who responded.

回应的是范妮小姐。

“You little silly!” she cried, with surprising sharpness.

“你这个小傻瓜！”她大声叫道，声音令人惊讶。

“What on earth are you talking about?

“你到底在说什么？

Eugene Morgan’s perfectly able to finance his own inventions these days.”

如今，尤金·摩根完全有能力为自己的发明提供资金。”

“I’ll bet he borrows money of Uncle George,” the nephew insisted.

“我敢打赌他是向乔治叔叔借的钱，”侄子坚持说。

Isabel looked at him in grave perplexity.

伊莎贝尔一脸困惑地看着他。

“Why do you say such a thing, George?” she asked.

“乔治，你为什么这么说？”她问道。

“He strikes me as that sort of man,” he answered doggedly.

“我觉得他就是这样的人。”他固执地回答道。

“Isn’t he, father?”

“他不是吗，父亲？”

Minafer set down his paper for the moment.

米纳弗暂时放下了他的报纸。

“He was a fairly wild young fellow twenty years ago,” he said, glancing at his wife absently.

“二十年前，他还是个相当狂野的年轻人，”他心不在焉地看了妻子一眼，说道。

“He was like you in one thing, Georgie; he spent too much money—only he didn’t have any mother to get money out of a grandfather for him, so he was usually in debt.

“他在某一件事上和你很像，乔吉；他花了太多钱——只是他没有母亲为他从祖父那里借钱，所以他经常负债累累。

But I believe I’ve heard he’s done fairly well of late years.

但我相信我听说他近年来表现相当不错。

No, I can’t say I think he’s a swindler, and I doubt if he needs anybody else’s money to back his horseless carriage.”

不，我不能说我认为他是个骗子，而且我怀疑他是否需要别人的钱来支持他的无马马车。”

“Well, what’s he brought the old thing here for, then?

“那么，他把这个老东西带到这里来干什么？

People that own elephants don’t take them elephants around with ’em when they go visiting.

拥有大象的人在参观时不会随身携带大象。

What’s he got it here for?”

他把它弄到这里来干什么？”

“I’m sure I don’t know,” said Mr. Minafer, resuming his paper.

“我确信我不知道，”米纳弗先生说，继续写他的论文。

“You might ask him.”

“你可以问问他。”

Isabel laughed, and patted her husband’s shoulder again.

伊莎贝尔笑了，再次拍拍丈夫的肩膀。

“Aren’t you going to dress?

“你不穿衣服吗？

Aren’t we all going to the dance?”

我们不是都去参加舞会吗？”

He groaned faintly.

他微弱地呻吟了一声。

“Aren’t your brother and Georgie escorts enough for you and Fanny?”

“你和范妮的哥哥和乔吉护送还不够吗？”

“Wouldn’t you enjoy it at all?”

“你难道一点儿也不享受吗？”

“You know I don’t.”

“你知道我不知道。”

Isabel let her hand remain upon his shoulder a moment longer; she stood behind him, looking into the fire, and George, watching her broodingly, thought there was more colour in her face than the reflection of the flames accounted for.

伊莎贝尔把手放在他肩上多停留了一会儿。她站在他身后，望着火焰，乔治若有所思地看着她，觉得她脸上的颜色比火焰反射的还要多。

“Well, then,” she said indulgently, “stay at home and be happy.

“那么，”她宽容地说，“待在家里，开心点。

We won’t urge you if you’d really rather not.”

如果你实在不愿意的话，我们不会催促你。”

“I really wouldn’t,” he said contentedly.

“我真的不会。”他满足地说。

Half an hour later, George was passing through the upper hall, in a bath-robe stage of preparation for the evening’s gaieties, when he encountered his Aunt Fanny.

半小时后，乔治穿着浴袍穿过上层大厅，为晚上的欢乐活动做准备，这时他遇到了范妮姨妈。

He stopped her.

他阻止了她。

“Look here!” he said.

“看这里！”他说。

“What in the world is the matter with you?” she demanded, regarding him with little amiability.

“你到底怎么了？” “怎么了？”她问道，看着他的态度一点也不友善。

“You look as if you were rehearsing for a villain in a play.

“你看上去就像是在为戏剧中的反派排练一样。

Do change your expression!”

快换换表情吧！”

His expression gave no sign of yielding to the request; on the contrary, its somberness deepened.

他的表情没有表现出屈服的迹象。反而更加阴郁了。

“I suppose you don’t know why father doesn’t want to go tonight,” he said solemnly.

“我想你不知道父亲为什么今晚不想去，”他严肃地说。

“You’re his only sister, and yet you don’t know!”

“你是他唯一的妹妹，你却不知道！”

“He never wants to go anywhere that I ever heard of,” said Fanny.

“他从来不想去我听说过的任何地方，”范妮说。

“What is the matter with you?”

“你怎么了？”

“He doesn’t want to go because he doesn’t like this man Morgan.”

“他不想去，因为他不喜欢摩根这个人。”

“Good gracious!” Fanny cried impatiently.

“天哪！”范妮不耐烦地哭了。

“Eugene Morgan isn’t in your father’s thoughts at all, one way or the other.

“无论如何，尤金·摩根根本不在你父亲的脑海里。

Why should he be?”

为什么他应该这样？

George hesitated.

乔治犹豫了。

“Well—it strikes me—Look here, what makes you and—and everybody—so excited over him?”

“嗯——我突然想到——看这里，是什么让你和——还有每个人——对他如此兴奋？”

“Excited!” she jeered.

“兴奋的！”她嘲笑道。

“Can’t people be glad to see an old friend without silly children like you having to make a to-do about it?

“如果没有像你这样的傻孩子不得不为此做点什么，人们难道不会很高兴见到老朋友吗？

I’ve just been in your mother’s room suggesting that she might give a little dinner for them—”

我刚刚在你母亲的房间里建议她可以为他们准备一顿小晚餐——”

“For who?”

“为了谁？”

“For _whom_, Georgie!

“为了_谁_，乔吉！

For Mr. Morgan and his daughter.”

为了摩根先生和他的女儿。”

“Look here!” George said quickly.

“看这里！”乔治很快说道。

“Don’t do that!

“别这么做！

Mother mustn’t do that.

妈妈不可以这样做。

It wouldn’t look well.”

看起来不太好。”

“Wouldn’t look well!” Fanny mocked him; and her suppressed vehemence betrayed a surprising acerbity.

“看起来不太好！”范妮嘲笑他。她压抑的热情流露出令人惊讶的尖酸刻薄。

“See here, Georgie Minafer, I suggest that you just march straight on into your room and finish your dressing!

“看这里，乔吉·米纳弗，我建议你直接走进你的房间，穿好衣服！

Sometimes you say things that show you have a pretty mean little mind!”

有时候你说的话表明你的心肠很卑鄙！”

George was so astounded by this outburst that his indignation was delayed by his curiosity.

乔治对他的爆发感到非常震惊，他的愤怒被他的好奇心延迟了。

“Why, what upsets you this way?” he inquired.

“怎么，什么事让你这么不高兴？”他问道。

“I know what you mean,” she said, her voice still lowered, but not decreasing in sharpness.

“我明白你的意思，”她说道，声音仍然压低，但尖锐程度却没有减弱。

“You’re trying to insinuate that I’d get your mother to invite Eugene Morgan here on my account because he’s a widower!”

“你试图暗示我会让你母亲以我的名义邀请尤金·摩根来这里，因为他是个鳏夫！”

“I am?” George gasped, nonplussed.

“我是？”乔治喘着粗气，一脸困惑。

“I’m trying to insinuate that you’re setting your cap at him and getting mother to help you?

“我是想暗示你是在向他下定决心，让妈妈来帮你？

Is that what you mean?”

你是这个意思吗？”

Beyond a doubt that was what Miss Fanny meant.

毫无疑问，这就是范妮小姐的意思。

She gave him a white-hot look.

她给了他一个白热化的眼神。

“You attend to your own affairs!” she whispered fiercely, and swept away.

“你自己的事你管吧！”她恶狠狠地低语了一声，然后一扫而去。

George, dumfounded, returned to his room for meditation.

乔治目瞪口呆，回到自己的房间沉思。

He had lived for years in the same house with his Aunt Fanny, and it now appeared that during all those years he had been thus intimately associating with a total stranger.

他和范妮姨妈住在同一所房子里很多年了，现在看来，这些年来他一直在和一个完全陌生的人交往密切。

Never before had he met the passionate lady with whom he had just held a conversation in the hall.

他以前从未见过刚刚在大厅里与他交谈的那位热情的女士。

So she wanted to get married!

所以她想结婚！

And wanted George’s mother to help her with this horseless-carriage widower!

并希望乔治的母亲能帮助她对付这个没有马车的鳏夫！

“Well, I _will_ be shot!” he muttered aloud.

“好吧，我会被枪杀的！”他大声嘀咕道。

“I will—I certainly will be shot!” And he began to laugh.

“我会——我一定会被枪杀！”他开始大笑。

“Lord ’lmighty!”

“万能的主啊！”

But presently, at the thought of the horseless-carriage widower’s daughter, his grimness returned, and he resolved upon a line of conduct for the evening.

但不久，一想到无马车鳏夫的女儿，他的表情又回来了，他决定今晚的行为方针。

He would nod to her carelessly when he first saw her; and, after that, he would notice her no more: he would not dance with her; he would not favour her in the cotillion—he would not go near her!

第一次见到她时，他会漫不经心地向她点头；从那以后，他就不再注意到她了：他不再和她跳舞了；他不再和她跳舞了。他不会在舞会上偏爱她——他不会靠近她！

He descended to dinner upon the third urgent summons of a coloured butler, having spent two hours dressing—and rehearsing.

当一位黑人管家第三次紧急召唤时，他花了两个小时穿衣和排练，下楼去吃晚饭。

Chapter IX

第九章

The Honourable George Amberson was a congressman who led cotillions—the sort of congressman an Amberson would be.

尊敬的乔治·安伯森是一位领导舞会的国会议员——安伯森就是这样的国会议员。

He did it negligently, tonight, yet with infallible dexterity, now and then glancing humorously at the spectators, people of his own age.

今晚，他做得很疏忽，但却有着绝对可靠的灵巧，时不时幽默地扫一眼观众，那些与他同龄的人。

They were seated in a tropical grove at one end of the room whither they had retired at the beginning of the cotillion, which they surrendered entirely to the twenties and the late ’teens.

他们坐在房间一端的热带树林里，在舞会开始时就在那里休息，他们完全把舞会交给了二十多岁和十几岁的年轻人。

And here, grouped with that stately pair, Sydney and Amelia Amberson, sat Isabel with Fanny, while Eugene Morgan appeared to bestow an amiable devotion impartially upon the three sisters-in-law.

伊莎贝尔和范妮坐在这对庄严的夫妇西德尼和阿米莉亚·安伯森的旁边，而尤金·摩根似乎公正地对三位嫂子表现出和蔼可亲的忠诚。

Fanny watched his face eagerly, laughing at everything he said; Amelia smiled blandly, but rather because of graciousness than because of interest; while Isabel, looking out at the dancers, rhythmically moved a great fan of blue ostrich feathers, listened to Eugene thoughtfully, yet all the while kept her shining eyes on Georgie.

范妮热切地注视着他的脸，对他所说的一切都大笑起来。阿米莉亚温和地微笑着，但与其说是出于兴趣，倒不如说是出于亲切。伊莎贝尔看着外面的舞者，有节奏地摇动一把蓝色鸵鸟羽毛的大扇，若有所思地听着尤金，但同时她那双闪亮的眼睛一直盯着乔吉。

Georgie had carried out his rehearsed projects with precision, he had given Miss Morgan a nod studied into perfection during his lengthy toilet before dinner.

乔吉精确地完成了他排练的项目，在晚饭前漫长的厕所里，他向摩根小姐点了点头，以求完美。

“Oh, yes, I do seem to remember that curious little outsider!” this nod seemed to say.

“哦，对了，我好像还记得那个好奇的小外人！”这点头似乎是在说。

Thereafter, all cognizance of her evaporated: the curious little outsider was permitted no further existence worth the struggle.

此后，人们对她的所有认识都消失了：这个好奇的小局外人不再被允许继续存在值得挣扎的地方。

Nevertheless, she flashed in the corner of his eye too often.

然而，她却太多次在他的眼角闪过。

He was aware of her dancing demurely, and of her viciously flirtatious habit of never looking up at her partner, but keeping her eyes concealed beneath downcast lashes; and he had over-sufficient consciousness of her between the dances, though it was not possible to see her at these times, even if he had cared to look frankly in her direction—she was invisible in a thicket of young dresscoats.

他知道她端庄地跳舞，也知道她恶毒地调情的习惯，从不抬头看她的舞伴，而是把眼睛隐藏在下垂的睫毛下；在舞蹈间隙，他对她有足够的意识，尽管在这些时候不可能看到她，即使他愿意坦率地朝她的方向看——她在一堆年轻的礼服中是看不见的。

The black thicket moved as she moved and her location was hatefully apparent, even if he had not heard her voice laughing from the thicket.

黑色的灌木丛随着她的移动而移动，即使他没有听到她在灌木丛中大笑的声音，她的位置也非常明显。

It was annoying how her voice, though never loud, pursued him.

令人恼火的是，她的声音虽然不大，但却追着他。

No matter how vociferous were other voices, all about, he seemed unable to prevent himself from constantly recognizing hers.

无论周围有多么喧闹的声音，他似乎都无法阻止自己不断地认出她的声音。

It had a quaver in it, not pathetic—rather humorous than pathetic—a quality which annoyed him to the point of rage, because it was so difficult to get away from.

它有一种颤抖，不是可悲的——而是幽默而不是可悲的——这种品质让他恼怒到了愤怒的程度，因为它是如此难以摆脱。

She seemed to be having a “wonderful time!”

她似乎度过了“美好的时光！”

An unbearable soreness accumulated in his chest: his dislike of the girl and her conduct increased until he thought of leaving this sickening Assembly and going home to bed.

他的胸口积聚着难以忍受的酸痛：他对这个女孩和她的行为越来越厌恶，直到他想到离开这个令人作呕的集会，回家睡觉。

_That_ would show her!

_那_会告诉她！

But just then he heard her laughing, and decided that it wouldn’t show her.

但就在这时，他听到了她的笑声，于是决定不让她看到。

So he remained.

所以他留下来了。

When the young couples seated themselves in chairs against the walls, round three sides of the room, for the cotillion, George joined a brazen-faced group clustering about the doorway—youths with no partners, yet eligible to be “called out” and favoured.

当年轻夫妇坐在房间三侧靠墙的椅子上参加舞会时，乔治加入了聚集在门口的厚脸皮的一群人——没有伴侣的年轻人，但有资格被“召唤”和受到青睐。

He marked that his uncle placed the infernal Kinney and Miss Morgan, as the leading couple, in the first chairs at the head of the line upon the leader’s right; and this disloyalty on the part of Uncle George was inexcusable, for in the family circle the nephew had often expressed his opinion of Fred Kinney.

他指出，他的叔叔把可恶的金尼和摩根小姐作为领头的夫妇，放在了领队右侧队伍最前面的第一把椅子上。乔治叔叔的这种不忠诚是不可原谅的，因为他的侄子在家庭圈子里经常表达他对弗雷德·金尼的看法。

In his bitterness, George uttered a significant monosyllable.

乔治在痛苦中说出了一个意味深长的单音节词。

The music flourished; whereupon Mr. Kinney, Miss Morgan, and six of their neighbours rose and waltzed knowingly.

音乐蓬勃发展；于是金尼先生、摩根小姐和他们的六位邻居自觉地站起来跳起了华尔兹。

Mr. Amberson’s whistle blew; then the eight young people went to the favour-table and were given toys and trinkets wherewith to delight the new partners it was now their privilege to select.

安伯森先生的哨子吹响了；然后，这八个年轻人走到了餐桌前，得到了玩具和小饰品，以让他们有幸选择的新伙伴感到高兴。

Around the walls, the seated non-participants in this ceremony looked rather conscious; some chattered, endeavouring not to appear expectant; some tried not to look wistful; and others were frankly solemn.

围墙周围，坐着的未参加仪式的人看起来相当清醒。有些人喋喋不休，尽量不表现出期待的样子。有些人试图不表现出渴望的样子。其他人则坦率地表示严肃。

It was a trying moment; and whoever secured a favour, this very first shot, might consider the portents happy for a successful evening.

这是一个艰难的时刻；无论谁在这第一枪中得到了帮助，都可能会认为这是一个成功的夜晚的预兆。

Holding their twinkling gewgaws in their hands, those about to bestow honour came toward the seated lines, where expressions became feverish.

那些即将授予荣誉的人手里拿着闪闪发光的小玩意儿，来到了就座的队列上，那里的表情变得狂热起来。

Two of the approaching girls seemed to wander, not finding a predetermined object in sight; and these two were Janie Sharon, and her cousin, Lucy.

两个走近的女孩似乎在徘徊，没有在视线中找到预定的物体。这两个人就是珍妮·莎伦和她的表弟露西。

At this, George Amberson Minafer, conceiving that he had little to anticipate from either, turned a proud back upon the room and affected to converse with his friend, Mr. Charlie Johnson.

听到这里，乔治·安伯森·米纳弗认为自己对这两个人都没有什么可期待的，他骄傲地转身背对房间，假装与他的朋友查理·约翰逊先生交谈。

The next moment a quick little figure intervened between the two.

下一刻，一道娇小的身影插在了两人之间。

It was Lucy, gaily offering a silver sleighbell decked with white ribbon.

是露西，兴高采烈地递上一个饰有白色丝带的银色雪橇铃。

“I almost couldn’t find you!” she cried.

“我差点找不到你了！”她哭了。

George stared, took her hand, led her forth in silence, danced with her.

乔治凝视着她，握住她的手，默默地领着她向前走，和她一起跳舞。

She seemed content not to talk; but as the whistle blew, signalling that this episode was concluded, and he conducted her to her seat, she lifted the little bell toward him.

她似乎满足于不说话。但当哨声响起时，这表明这一集结束了，他把她带到了座位上，她向他举起了小铃铛。

“You haven’t taken your favour.

“你还没有得到你的青睐。

You’re supposed to pin it on your coat,” she said.

你应该把它别在你的外套上，”她说。

“Don’t you want it?”

“你不想要吗？”

“If you insist!” said George stiffly.

“如果你坚持的话！”乔治生硬地说。

And he bowed her into her chair; then turned and walked away, dropping the sleighbell haughtily into his trousers’ pocket.

他把她鞠了一躬，让她坐在椅子上。然后转身走开，傲慢地把雪橇扔进裤兜里。

The figure proceeded to its conclusion, and George was given other sleighbells, which he easily consented to wear upon his lapel; but, as the next figure began, he strolled with a bored air to the tropical grove, where sat his elders, and seated himself beside his Uncle Sydney.

这个人物继续结束，乔治得到了其他雪橇铃，他很容易地同意将其戴在他的翻领上。但是，当下一个人物开始时，他带着一种无聊的神情漫步到热带丛林，那里坐着他的长辈，坐在他叔叔悉尼的旁边。

His mother leaned across Miss Fanny, raising her voice over the music to speak to him.

他的母亲靠在范妮小姐身上，在音乐声中提高了声音对他说话。

“Georgie, nobody will be able to see you here.

“乔吉，这里没有人能看到你。

You’ll not be favoured.

你不会受到青睐。

You ought to be where you can dance.”

你应该在可以跳舞的地方。”

“Don’t care to,” he returned.

“不在乎，”他回答道。

“Bore!”

“闷！”

“But you ought—” She stopped and laughed, waving her fan to direct his attention behind him.

“但你应该——”她停下来大笑着，挥舞着扇子把他的注意力引向身后。

“Look!

“看！

Over your shoulder!”

越过你的肩膀！”

He turned, and discovered Miss Lucy Morgan in the act of offering him a purple toy balloon.

他转过身，发现露西·摩根小姐正在递给他一个紫色的玩具气球。

“I found you!” she laughed.

“我找到你！”她笑了。

George was startled.

乔治吓了一跳。

“Well—” he said.

“嗯——”他说。

“Would you rather ‘sit it out?’” Lucy asked quickly, as he did not move.

“你愿意‘袖手旁观吗？’”露西很快问道，因为他没有动。

“I don’t care to dance if you—”

“我不想跳舞，如果你——”

“No,” he said, rising.

“不，”他站起来说道。

“It would be better to dance.” His tone was solemn, and solemnly he departed with her from the grove.

“跳舞会更好。”他语气凝重，郑重地带着她离开了小树林。

Solemnly he danced with her.

他庄严地与她共舞。

Four times, with not the slightest encouragement, she brought him a favour: four times in succession.

四次，她在没有丝毫鼓励的情况下，给他带来了好处：连续四次。

When the fourth came, “Look here!” said George huskily.

当第四个来的时候，“看这里！”乔治沙哑地说。

“You going to keep this up all night?

“你打算整晚都这样吗？

What do you mean by it?”

你这是什么意思？

For an instant she seemed confused.

一瞬间她显得很困惑。

“That’s what cotillions are for, aren’t they?” she murmured.

“这就是舞会的用途，不是吗？”她低声说道。

“What do you mean: what they’re for?”

“你的意思是：它们的用途是什么？”

“So that a girl can dance with a person she wants to?”

“这样一个女孩就可以和她想跳舞的人跳舞了？”

George’s huskiness increased.

乔治的声音更加沙哑了。

“Well, do you mean you—you want to dance with me all the time—all evening?”

“嗯，你是说你——你想一直和我跳舞——整个晚上吗？”

“Well, this much of it—evidently!” she laughed.

“好吧，就这么多——显然！”她笑了。

“Is it because you thought I tried to keep you from getting hurt this afternoon when we upset?”

“是因为你认为今天下午我们不高兴的时候我试图阻止你受伤吗？”

She shook her head.

她摇摇头。

“Was it because you want to even things up for making me angry—I mean, for hurting my feelings on the way home?”

“是不是因为你想报复让我生气——我是说，在回家的路上伤害了我的感情？”

With her eyes averted—for girls of nineteen can be as shy as boys, sometimes—she said, “Well—you only got angry because I couldn’t dance the cotillion with you.

她把目光移开——十九岁的女孩有时会像男孩一样害羞——她说，“好吧——你生气只是因为我不能和你一起跳舞会。

I—I didn’t feel terribly hurt with you for getting angry about _that!_”

我——我并没有因为你对那件事生气而感到受到很大的伤害！_”

“Was there any other reason?

“还有其他原因吗？

Did my telling you I liked you have anything to do with it?”

我告诉你我喜欢你和这有什么关系吗？”

She looked up gently, and, as George met her eyes, something exquisitely touching, yet queerly delightful, gave him a catch in the throat.

她轻轻地抬起头，当乔治与她四目相对时，一种美妙的触动，却又奇异的愉悦，让他卡住了喉咙。

She looked instantly away, and, turning, ran out from the palm grove, where they stood, to the dancing-floor.

她立即​​把目光移开，转身从他们站立的棕榈树林跑到舞池。

“Come on!” she cried.

“快点！”她哭了。

“Let’s dance!”

“我们来跳舞吧！”

He followed her.

他跟着她。

“See here—I—I—” he stammered.

“看这里——我——我——”他结结巴巴地说。

“You mean—Do you—”

“你的意思是——你是——”

“No, no!” she laughed.

“不，不！”她笑了。

“Let’s dance!”

“我们来跳舞吧！”

He put his arm about her almost tremulously, and they began to waltz.

他几乎颤抖地用手臂搂住她，然后他们开始跳华尔兹。

It was a happy dance for both of them.

这对他们俩来说都是一场快乐的舞蹈。

Christmas day is the children’s, but the holidays are youth’s dancing-time.

圣诞节是孩子们的节日，但假期是年轻人的跳舞时间。

The holidays belong to the early twenties and the ’teens, home from school and college.

假期属于二十出头和十几岁的人，他们放学回家。

These years possess the holidays for a little while, then possess them only in smiling, wistful memories of holly and twinkling lights and dance-music, and charming faces all aglow.

这些年只拥有短暂的假期，然后只拥有对冬青树、闪烁的灯光和舞曲的微笑和渴望的回忆，以及容光焕发的迷人面孔。

It is the liveliest time in life, the happiest of the irresponsible times in life.

这是人生最热闹的时光，也是人生最不负责任的时光。

Mothers echo its happiness—nothing is like a mother who has a son home from college, except another mother with a son home from college.

母亲们也响应了它的幸福——没有什么比一个母亲有一个大学毕业回家的母亲更好的了，除了另一个有一个儿子大学毕业回家的母亲。

Bloom does actually come upon these mothers; it is a visible thing; and they run like girls, walk like athletes, laugh like sycophants.

布鲁姆确实遇到了这些母亲；它是看得见的东西；他们像女孩一样奔跑，像运动员一样行走，像谄媚者一样笑。

Yet they give up their sons to the daughters of other mothers, and find it proud rapture enough to be allowed to sit and watch.

然而，他们却把自己的儿子交给了其他母亲的女儿，并感到非常高兴，可以坐下来观看。

Thus Isabel watched George and Lucy dancing, as together they danced away the holidays of that year into the past.

就这样，伊莎贝尔看着乔治和露西跳舞，他们一起跳舞，度过了那一年的假期。

“They seem to get along better than they did at first, those two children,” Fanny Minafer said sitting beside her at the Sharons’ dance, a week after the Assembly.

“这两个孩子似乎比一开始相​​处得更好，”集会一周后的沙龙舞会上，范妮·米纳弗坐在她旁边说道。

“They seemed to be always having little quarrels of some sort, at first.

“一开始，他们似乎总是发生某种小争吵。

At least George did: he seemed to be continually pecking at that lovely, dainty, little Lucy, and being cross with her over nothing.”

至少乔治是这样的：他似乎一直在啄食那个可爱、精致的小露西，并且无缘无故地生她的气。”

“_Pecking?_” Isabel laughed.

“_啄？_”伊莎贝尔笑了。

“What a word to use about Georgie!

“用这个词来形容乔吉真是太好了！

I think I never knew a more angelically amiable disposition in my life!”

我想我一生中从来没有见过比这更天使般和蔼可亲的性格了！”

Miss Fanny echoed her sister-in-law’s laugh, but it was a rueful echo, and not sweet.

范妮小姐也跟着她嫂子的笑声，但那是一种悲伤的笑声，并不甜蜜。

“He’s amiable to you!” she said.

“他对你很好！”她说。

“That’s all the side of him you ever happen to see.

“这就是你所看到的他的全部侧面。

And why wouldn’t he be amiable to anybody that simply fell down and worshipped him every minute of her life?

为什么他不能对那些在她生命中每时每刻都跪下来崇拜他的人表现出和蔼可亲呢？

Most of us would!”

我们大多数人都会这么做！”

“Isn’t he worth worshipping?

“他难道不值得崇拜吗？

Just look at him!

看看他就知道了！

Isn’t he _charming_ with Lucy!

他对露西不是很_迷人_吗？

See how hard he ran to get it when she dropped her handkerchief back there.”

看看当她把手帕掉到那里时，他是多么卖力地跑去拿。”

“Oh, I’m not going to argue with you about George!” said Miss Fanny.

“哦，我不会和你争论乔治的事！”范妮小姐说。

“I’m fond enough of him, for that matter.

“就这一点而言，我很喜欢他。

He can be charming, and he’s certainly stunning _looking_, if only—”

他可以很迷人，而且他的_长相确实令人惊叹_，如果——”

“Let the ‘if only’ go, dear,” Isabel suggested good-naturedly.

“亲爱的，就别再说‘如果就好了’吧。”伊莎贝尔善意地建议道。

“Let’s talk about that dinner you thought I should—”

“我们来谈谈你认为我应该的那顿晚餐——”

“I?” Miss Fanny interrupted quickly.

“我？”范妮小姐连忙打断道。

“Didn’t you want to give it yourself?”

“你不是要自己给吗？”

“Indeed, I did, my dear!” said Isabel heartily.

“确实，我做到了，亲爱的！”伊莎贝尔由衷地说。

“I only meant that unless you had proposed it, perhaps I wouldn’t—”

“我只是想说，除非你主动提出，否则我也许不会——”

But here Eugene came for her to dance, and she left the sentence uncompleted.

但此时尤金来找她跳舞，她就没有把这句话说完。

Holiday dances can be happy for youth renewed as well as for youth in bud—and yet it was not with the air of a rival that Miss Fanny watched her brother’s wife dancing with the widower.

节日舞会既可以为青春焕发的青春带来欢乐，也可以为萌芽中的青春带来欢乐——然而，范妮小姐看着她哥哥的妻子与鳏夫跳舞时，并没有以情敌的姿态。

Miss Fanny’s eyes narrowed a little, but only as if her mind engaged in a hopeful calculation.

范妮小姐的眼睛微微眯起，但她的心里似乎在进行着充满希望的盘算。

She looked pleased.

她看起来很高兴。

Chapter X

第十章

A few days after George’s return to the university it became evident that not quite everybody had gazed with complete benevolence upon the various young collegians at their holiday sports.

乔治回到大学几天后，很明显，并不是每个人都以完全仁慈的目光注视着节日运动中的各种年轻大学生。

The Sunday edition of the principal morning paper even expressed some bitterness under the heading, “Gilded Youths of the Fin-de-Siècle”—this was considered the knowing phrase of the time, especially for Sunday supplements—and there is no doubt that from certain references in this bit of writing some people drew the conclusion that Mr. George Amberson Minafer had not yet got his comeuppance, a postponement still irritating.

主要早报的周日版甚至在“世纪末的镀金青年”标题下表达了一些苦涩——这被认为是当时众所周知的短语，尤其是周日增刊——毫无疑问，从这篇文章中的某些参考文献中，一些人得出了这样的结论：乔治·安伯森·米纳弗先生还没有得到应有的惩罚，推迟仍然令人恼火。

Undeniably, Fanny Minafer was one of the people who drew this conclusion, for she cut the article out and enclosed it in a letter to her nephew, having written on the border of the clipping, “I wonder whom it can mean!”

不可否认，范妮·米纳弗是得出这个结论的人之一，因为她把这篇文章剪下来，附在给她侄子的一封信中，并在剪报的边框上写道：“我想知道这可能意味着谁！”

George read part of it.

乔治读了其中的一部分。

We debate sometimes what is to be the future of this nation when we think that in a few years public affairs may be in the hands of the _fin-de-siècle_ gilded youths we see about us during the Christmas holidays.

当我们认为几年后公共事务可能会掌握在圣诞假期期间我们所看到的“世纪末”镀金青年手中时，我们有时会争论这个国家的未来。

Such foppery, such luxury, such insolence, was surely never practised by the scented, overbearing patricians of the Palatine, even in Rome’s most decadent epoch.

即使是在罗马最颓废的时代，帕拉丁那些气味芬芳、专横的贵族们也绝对不会有这样的奢华、这样的奢侈、这样的无礼。

In all the wild orgy of wastefulness and luxury with which the nineteenth century reaches its close, the gilded youth has been surely the worst symptom.

在十九世纪结束时的所有挥霍和奢侈的疯狂狂欢中，镀金的年轻人无疑是最糟糕的症状。

With his airs of young milord, his fast horses, his gold and silver cigarette-cases, his clothes from a New York tailor, his recklessness of money showered upon him by indulgent mothers or doting grandfathers, he respects nothing and nobody.

他的年轻大公的架势，他的快马，他的金银烟盒，他的纽约裁缝的衣服，他不顾一切地从溺爱的母亲或溺爱的祖父那里得到的金钱，他不尊重任何东西和任何人。

He is blase if you please.

如果你愿意的话，他很无聊。

Watch him at a social function, how condescendingly he deigns to select a partner for the popular waltz or two step, how carelessly he shoulders older people out of his way, with what a blank stare he returns the salutation of some old acquaintance whom he may choose in his royal whim to forget!

看看他在社交场合的表现，他如何居高临下地为流行的华尔兹或两步选择舞伴，他如何漫不经心地将年长的人让开，他以多么茫然的眼神回敬一些老熟人的问候，他可能会出于皇室的心血来潮而选择忘记他们！

The unpleasant part of all this is that the young women he so condescendingly selects as partners for the dance greet him with seeming rapture, though in their hearts they must feel humiliated by his languid hauteur, and many older people beam upon him almost fawningly if he unbends so far as to throw them a careless, disdainful word!

这一切的令人不快之处在于，他如此屈尊选为舞伴的年轻女子表面上欣喜若狂地迎接他，尽管她们内心一定会因他懒洋洋的傲慢而感到羞辱，而如果他直起身子向他们扔出一句漫不经心的、轻蔑的话语，许多年长的人就会向他微笑，几乎是阿谀奉承！

One wonders what has come over the new generation.

人们想知道新一代发生了什么。

Of such as these the Republic was not made.

共和国不是由这些人建立的。

Let us pray that the future of our country is not in the hands of these _fin-de-siècle_ gilded youths, but rather in the calloused palms of young men yet unknown, labouring upon the farms of the land.

让我们祈祷，我们国家的未来不是掌握在这些世纪末镀金的年轻人手中，而是掌握在那些默默无闻、在土地上劳作的年轻人布满老茧的手掌上。

When we compare the young manhood of Abraham Lincoln with the specimens we are now producing, we see too well that it bodes ill for the twentieth century—

当我们将亚伯拉罕·林肯的青年时代与我们现在制作的标本进行比较时，我们清楚地看到，这对二十世纪来说是一个不祥之兆——

George yawned, and tossed the clipping into his waste-basket, wondering why his aunt thought such dull nonsense worth the sending.

乔治打了个哈欠，把剪报扔进了废纸篓，他想知道为什么他的姨妈认为这么无聊的废话值得寄去。

As for her insinuation, pencilled upon the border, he supposed she meant to joke—a supposition which neither surprised him nor altered his lifelong opinion of her wit.

至于她在边框上的暗示，他认为她是想开玩笑——这个假设既没有让他感到惊讶，也没有改变他一生对她机智的看法。

He read her letter with more interest:

他更有兴趣地读了她的信：

...

...

The dinner your mother gave for the Morgans was a lovely affair.

你母亲为摩根一家举办的晚宴非常愉快。

It was last Monday evening, just ten days after you left.

那是上周一晚上，距离你离开仅仅十天。

It was peculiarly appropriate that your mother should give this dinner, because her brother George, your uncle, was Mr. Morgan’s most intimate friend before he left here a number of years ago, and it was a pleasant occasion for the formal announcement of some news which you heard from Lucy Morgan before you returned to college.

你母亲举办这顿晚宴是特别合适的，因为她的兄弟乔治，你的叔叔，是摩根先生几年前离开这里之前最亲密的朋友，这是一个愉快的场合，正式宣布你在回到大学之前从露西·摩根那里听到的一些消息。

At least she told me she had told you the night before you left that her father had decided to return here to live.

至少她告诉我，在你离开的前一天晚上，她已经告诉你，她的父亲决定回到这里居住。

It was appropriate that your mother, herself an old friend, should assemble a representative selection of Mr. Morgan’s old friends around him at such a time.

你的母亲本身就是一位老朋友，在这种时候，在摩根先生身边召集一些具有代表性的老朋友，是很合适的。

He was in great spirits and most entertaining.

他精神抖擞，非常有趣。

As your time was so charmingly taken up during your visit home with a younger member of his family, you probably overlooked opportunities of hearing him talk, and do not know what an interesting man he can be.

由于您与一位年轻的家庭成员一起回家期间，您的时间被如此迷人地占用，因此您可能忽略了听到他讲话的机会，并且不知道他是一个多么有趣的人。

He will soon begin to build his factory here for the manufacture of _automobiles_, which he says is a term he prefers to “horseless carriages.” Your Uncle George told me he would like to invest in this factory, as George thinks there is a future for automobiles; perhaps not for general use, but as an interesting novelty, which people with sufficient means would like to own for their amusement and the sake of variety.

他很快将开始在这里建造自己的工厂，用于制造“汽车”，他说，与“无马拉的马车”相比，他更喜欢这个词。你的乔治叔叔告诉我他想投资这家工厂，因为乔治认为汽车有未来；也许不是为了一般用途，而是作为一种有趣的新奇事物，有足够财力的人愿意拥有它以供娱乐和多样性。

However, he said Mr. Morgan laughingly declined his offer, as Mr. M.

然而，他说摩根先生笑着拒绝了他的提议，因为 M 先生。

was fully able to finance this venture, though not starting in a very large way.

完全有能力为这项事业提供资金，尽管起步规模并不大。

Your uncle said other people are manufacturing automobiles in different parts of the country with success.

你叔叔说其他人在全国不同地区制造汽车并取得了成功。

Your father is not very well, though he is not actually ill, and the doctor tells him he ought not to be so much at his office, as the long years of application indoors with no exercise are beginning to affect him unfavourably, but I believe your father would die if he had to give up his work, which is all that has ever interested him outside of his family.

你父亲的情况不太好，虽然他实际上并没有生病，医生告诉他不应该在办公室呆得太久，因为长年在室内工作，没有锻炼，已经开始对他产生不利的影响，但我相信，如果你父亲不得不放弃他的工作，他就会死去，因为工作是他在家庭之外唯一感兴趣的事情。

I never could understand it.

我一直无法理解。

Mr. Morgan took your mother and me with Lucy to see Modjeska in “Twelfth Night” yesterday evening, and Lucy said she thought the Duke looked rather like you, only much more democratic in his manner.

昨天晚上，摩根先生带着你母亲和我，还有露西去看了《第十二夜》中的莫杰斯卡，露西说她觉得公爵看起来很像你，只是他的举止更民主。

I suppose you will think I have written a great deal about the Morgans in this letter, but thought you would be interested because of your interest in a _younger member_ of his family.

我想你会认为我在这封信中写了很多关于摩根家族的内容，但认为你会因为对他家族中的一位_年轻成员_感兴趣而感兴趣。

Hoping that you are finding college still as attractive as ever,

希望你发现大学仍然像以前一样有吸引力，

Affectionately, Aunt Fanny.

亲切地，范妮阿姨。

George read one sentence in this letter several times.

乔治将这封信中的一句话读了好几遍。

Then he dropped the missive in his wastebasket to join the clipping, and strolled down the corridor of his dormitory to borrow a copy of “Twelfth Night.” Having secured one, he returned to his study and refreshed his memory of the play—but received no enlightenment that enabled him to comprehend Lucy’s strange remark.

然后他把信扔到废纸篓里加入剪报，并沿着宿舍走廊漫步借了一本《第十二夜》。拿到一份后，他回到书房，刷新了对这部剧的记忆——但并没有得到任何启发，让他能够理解露西的奇怪言论。

However, he found himself impelled in the direction of correspondence, and presently wrote a letter—not a reply to his Aunt Fanny.

然而，他发现自己被迫走向信件往来，不久就写了一封信——而不是给范妮姨妈的回信。

Dear Lucy:

亲爱的露西：

No doubt you will be surprised at hearing from me so soon again, especially as this makes two in answer to the one received from you since getting back to the old place.

毫无疑问，你会很惊讶这么快又收到我的来信，特别是因为这与你回到老地方后收到的回复相比，这又是两个。

I hear you have been making comments about me at the theatre, that some actor was more democratic in his manners than I am, which I do not understand.

我听说你在剧院里一直在评论我，说某个演员的举止比我更民主，我不明白。

You know my theory of life because I explained it to you on our first drive together, when I told you I would not talk to everybody about things I feel like the way I spoke to you of my theory of life.

你知道我的生命理论，因为我在我们第一次一起开车时向你解释过它，当我告诉你我不会和每个人谈论我的感觉就像我向你谈论我的生命理论的方式一样。

I believe those who are able should have a true theory of life, and I developed my theory of life long, long ago.

我认为有能力的人应该有一个真正的生命理论，我的生命理论很早以前就发展了。

Well, here I sit smoking my faithful briar pipe, indulging in the fragrance of my tobacco as I look out on the campus from my many-paned window, and things are different with me from the way they were way back in Freshman year.

好吧，我坐在这里，抽着我忠实的石南烟斗，沉浸在烟草的香味中，从我的多玻璃窗户向外眺望校园，现在的情况与我大一时的情况有所不同。

I can see now how boyish in many ways I was then.

现在我可以看出当时的我在很多方面是多么孩子气。

I believe what has changed me as much as anything was my visit home at the time I met you.

我相信最改变我的是我遇见你时的回家。

So I sit here with my faithful briar and dream the old dreams over as it were, dreaming of the waltzes we waltzed together and of that last night before we parted, and you told me the good news you were going to live there, and I would find my friend waiting for me, when I get home next summer.

所以我和我忠实的石南花坐在这里，梦想着旧梦，梦想着我们一起跳的华尔兹，梦想着我们分手前的昨晚，你告诉我你要住在那里的好消息，当我明年夏天回家时，我会发现我的朋友在等我。

I will be glad my friend will be waiting for me.

我很高兴我的朋友会等我。

I am not capable of friendship except for the very few, and, looking back over my life, I remember there were times when I doubted if I could feel a great friendship for anybody—especially girls.

除了极少数人之外，我没有能力建立友谊，而且，回顾我的一生，我记得有时我怀疑我是否可以对任何人——尤其是女孩——产生深厚的友谊。

I do not take a great interest in many people, as you know, for I find most of them shallow.

正如你所知，我对很多人都不太感兴趣，因为我发现他们大多数都很肤浅。

Here in the old place I do not believe in being hail-fellow-well-met with every Tom, Dick, and Harry just because he happens to be a classmate, any more than I do at home, where I have always been careful who I was seen with, largely on account of the family, but also because my disposition ever since my boyhood has been to encourage real intimacy from but the few.

在老地方，我不相信仅仅因为汤姆、迪克和哈利碰巧是同学，就可以和他们打成一片，就像我在家里一样。在家里，我一直很小心别人看到我和谁在一起，主要是为了家人，但也因为我从孩提时代起就一直鼓励真正的亲密关系，除了少数人。

What are you reading now?

你现在在读什么？

I have finished both “Henry Esmond” and “The Virginians.” I like Thackeray because he is not trashy, and because he writes principally of nice people.

我已经看完了《亨利·埃斯蒙德》和《弗吉尼亚人》。我喜欢萨克雷，因为他并不垃圾，而且因为他写的主要是好人。

My theory of literature is an author who does not indulge in trashiness—writes about people you could introduce into your own home.

我的文学理论是一位不沉迷于垃圾的作家——写的是你可以介绍到自己家里的人。

I agree with my Uncle Sydney, as I once heard him say he did not care to read a book or go to a play about people he would not care to meet at his own dinner table.

我同意我叔叔悉尼的观点，因为我曾经听他说过，他不喜欢看书或去看一场关于他不想在自己的餐桌上见到的人的戏剧。

I believe we should live by certain standards and ideals, as you know from my telling you my theory of life.

我相信我们应该按照一定的标准和理想生活，正如您从我告诉您的生活理论中了解到的那样。

Well, a letter is no place for deep discussions, so I will not go into the subject.

好吧，信里没有地方可以深入讨论，所以我就不谈这个话题了。

From several letters from my mother, and one from Aunt Fanny, I hear you are seeing a good deal of the family since I left.

从我母亲的几封信和范妮阿姨的一封信中，我听说自从我离开后，你经常和这个家庭见面。

I hope sometimes you think of the member who is absent.

我希望你有时会想起缺席的成员。

I got a silver frame for your photograph in New York, and I keep it on my desk.

我在纽约为你的照片买了一个银色相框，把它放在我的桌子上。

It is the only girl’s photograph I ever took the trouble to have framed, though, as I told you frankly, I have had any number of other girls’ photographs, yet all were only passing fancies, and oftentimes I have questioned in years past if I was capable of much friendship toward the feminine sex, which I usually found shallow until our own friendship began.

这是我不厌其烦地装框的唯一一张女孩的照片，不过，正如我坦率地告诉你的那样，我还有很多其他女孩的照片，但所有这些都只是一时的幻想，在过去的几年里，我常常质疑我是否有能力对女性产生很多友谊，在我们自己的友谊开始之前，我通常发现这种友谊很肤浅。

When I look at your photograph, I say to myself, “At last, at last here is one that will not prove shallow.”

当我看到你的照片时，我对自己说：“终于，终于有了一张不会被证明浅薄的照片。”

My faithful briar has gone out.

我忠实的荆棘已经出去了。

I will have to rise and fill it, then once more in the fragrance of My Lady Nicotine, I will sit and dream the old dreams over, and think, too, of the true friend at home awaiting my return in June for the summer vacation.

我必须站起来，填满它，然后再一次在我的尼古丁女士的香味中，我会坐下来重温旧梦，同时也会想到家里真正的朋友正在等待我六月回来过暑假。

Friend, this is from your friend, G.A.M.

朋友，这是你的朋友 G.A.M. 发来的。

George’s anticipations were not disappointed.

乔治的期望并没有落空。

When he came home in June his friend was awaiting him; at least, she was so pleased to see him again that for a few minutes after their first encounter she was a little breathless, and a great deal glowing, and quiet withal.

当他六月回到家时，他的朋友正在等他。至少，她很高兴再次见到他，以至于在他们第一次见面后的几分钟里，她有点喘不过气来，而且很容光焕发，而且很安静。

Their sentimental friendship continued, though sometimes he was irritated by her making it less sentimental than he did, and sometimes by what he called her “air of superiority.” Her air was usually, in truth, that of a fond but amused older sister; and George did not believe such an attitude was warranted by her eight months of seniority.

他们多愁善感的友谊仍在继续，尽管有时他会因为她的感情不像他那样多愁善感而恼火，有时又因为她所谓的“优越感”而恼怒。事实上，她的神情通常是一位慈爱而又有趣的姐姐。乔治认为，她八个月的资历并不能保证她有这样的态度。

Lucy and her father were living at the Amberson Hotel, while Morgan got his small machine-shops built in a western outskirt of the town; and George grumbled about the shabbiness and the old-fashioned look of the hotel, though it was “still the best in the place, of course.” He remonstrated with his grandfather, declaring that the whole Amberson Estate would be getting “run-down and out-at-heel, if things weren’t taken in hand pretty soon.” He urged the general need of rebuilding, renovating, varnishing, and lawsuits.

露西和她的父亲住在安伯森酒店，而摩根则在该镇的西郊建立了他的小型机械车间。乔治抱怨酒店的破旧和老式的外观，尽管它“当然仍然是这个地方最好的”。他向祖父提出抗议，宣称“如果不尽快采取行动，整个安伯森庄园将会变得破败不堪”。他敦促人们普遍需要重建、翻新、清漆和诉讼。

But the Major, declining to hear him out, interrupted querulously, saying that he had enough to bother him without any advice from George; and retired to his library, going so far as to lock the door audibly.

但少校拒绝听他说完，抱怨地打断了他，说没有乔治的任何建议，他就已经够烦他了。然后回到他的图书馆，甚至听到锁门的声音。

“Second childhood!” George muttered, shaking his head; and he thought sadly that the Major had not long to live.

“第二个童年！”乔治摇摇头，嘀咕道。他悲伤地想，少校的命不久矣了。

However, this surmise depressed him for only a moment or so.

不过，这个猜测只让他郁闷了一会儿。

Of course, people couldn’t be expected to live forever, and it would be a good thing to have someone in charge of the Estate who wouldn’t let it get to looking so rusty that riffraff dared to make fun of it.

当然，人不可能永远活下去，如果有一个人来管理这个庄园，不让它变得生锈，让痞子敢于取笑它，那是一件好事。

For George had lately undergone the annoyance of calling upon the Morgans, in the rather stuffy red velours and gilt parlour of their apartment at the hotel, one evening when Mr. Frederick Kinney also was a caller, and Mr. Kinney had not been tactful.

因为乔治最近经历了拜访摩根夫妇的烦恼，在他们位于酒店的公寓里相当闷热的红色丝绒和镀金客厅里，有一天晚上，弗雷德里克·金尼先生也来了，而金尼先生并不圆滑。

In fact, though he adopted a humorous tone of voice, in expressing his sympathy for people who, through the city’s poverty in hotels, were obliged to stay at the Amberson, Mr. Kinney’s intention was interpreted by the other visitor as not at all humorous, but, on the contrary, personal and offensive.

事实上，尽管金尼先生用幽默的语气表达了对那些因城市酒店匮乏而不得不住在安伯森酒店的人们的同情，但金尼先生的意图被另一位访客解读为一点也不幽默，相反，是针对个人和冒犯的。

George rose abruptly, his face the colour of wrath.

乔治猛地站起来，脸上露出愤怒的颜色。

“Good-night, Miss Morgan.

“晚安，摩根小姐。

Good-night, Mr. Morgan,” he said.

晚安，摩根先生，”他说。

“I shall take pleasure in calling at some other time when a more courteous sort of people may be present.”

“当有更有礼貌的人在场时，我会很乐意在其他时间打电话来。”

“Look here!” the hot-headed Fred burst out.

“看这里！”头脑发热的弗雷德突然爆发了。

“Don’t you try to make me out a boor, George Minafer!

“乔治·米纳弗，你别想把我说成是个粗野的人！

I wasn’t hinting anything at you; I simply forgot all about your grandfather owning this old building.

我并没有向你暗示什么；我完全忘记了你祖父拥有这座老建筑的事。

Don’t you try to put me in the light of a boor!

你别想把我视为一个乡巴佬！

I won’t—”

我不会——”

But George walked out in the very course of this vehement protest, and it was necessarily left unfinished.

但乔治在这场激烈的抗议过程中退出了，这必然是未完成的。

Mr. Kinney remained only a few moments after George’s departure; and as the door closed upon him, the distressed Lucy turned to her father.

乔治离开后，金尼先生只留下了几分钟。当门在他面前关上时，露西痛苦地转向她的父亲。

She was plaintively surprised to find him in a condition of immoderate laughter.

她惊讶地发现他笑得无节制。

“I didn’t—I didn’t think I could hold out!” he gasped, and, after choking until tears came to his eyes, felt blindly for the chair from which he had risen to wish Mr. Kinney an indistinct good-night.

“我没有——我想我坚持不了！”他喘着粗气，哽咽到泪水夺眶而出，他盲目地摸索着自己站起来的椅子，模糊地向金尼先生道晚安。

His hand found the arm of the chair; he collapsed feebly, and sat uttering incoherent sounds.

他的手找到了椅子的扶手；他无力地倒在地上，坐在那儿发出语无伦次的声音。

“Papa!”

“爸爸！”

“It brings things back so!” he managed to explain, “This very Fred Kinney’s father and young George’s father, Wilbur Minafer, used to do just such things when they were at that age—and, for that matter, so did George Amberson and I, and all the rest of us!” And, in spite of his exhaustion, he began to imitate: “Don’t you try to put me in the light of a boor!” “I shall take pleasure in calling at some time when a more courteous sort of people—” He was unable to go on.

“它让事情恢复了原来的样子！”他设法解释道：“弗雷德·金尼的父亲和年轻的乔治的父亲威尔伯·米纳弗在那个年纪就经常做这样的事情——就这一点而言，乔治·安伯森和我，以及我们所有其他人也是如此！”尽管他已经筋疲力尽，他还是开始模仿：“你别想把我看成一个乡巴佬！” “我会很高兴在某个时候拜访更有礼貌的人——”他无法继续说下去。

There is a mirth for every age, and Lucy failed to comprehend her father’s, but tolerated it a little ruefully.

每个年龄段都有不同的欢笑，露西无法理解父亲的欢笑，但又有些遗憾地忍受着。

“Papa, I think they were shocking.

“爸爸，我觉得他们太令人震惊了。

Weren’t they _awful!_”

他们不是_可怕吗！_”

“Just—just boys!” he moaned, wiping his eyes.

“只是——只是男孩们！”他呻吟着，擦着眼睛。

But Lucy could not smile at all; she was beginning to look indignant.

但露西根本笑不出来。她看上去开始愤怒了。

“I can forgive that poor Fred Kinney,” she said.

“我可以原谅那个可怜的弗雷德·金尼，”她说。

“He’s just blundering—but George—oh, George behaved outrageously!”

“他只是犯了错误——但是乔治——哦，乔治的行为太离谱了！”

“It’s a difficult age,” her father observed, his calmness somewhat restored.

“这是一个艰难的年纪，”她父亲说道，他的平静有所恢复。

“Girls don’t seem to have to pass through it quite as boys do, or their _savoir faire_ is instinctive—or something!” And he gave away to a return of his convulsion.

“女孩似乎不必像男孩那样经历它，或者她们的技巧是本能的——或者什么的！”他又抽搐了。

She came and sat upon the arm of his chair.

她走过来，坐在他椅子的扶手上。

“Papa, _why_ should George behave like that?”

“爸爸，乔治为什么要这么做？”

“He’s sensitive.”

“他很敏感。”

“Rather!

“倒是！

But why is he?

但为什么是他呢？

He does anything he likes to, without any regard for what people think.

他做自己喜欢做的事，根本不考虑别人的想法。

Then why should he mind so furiously when the least little thing reflects upon him, or on anything or anybody connected with him?”

那么，当最小的事情反映到他身上，或者反映到与他有关的任何事物或任何人身上时，他为什么要如此愤怒地介意呢？”

Eugene patted her hand.

尤金拍拍她的手。

“That’s one of the greatest puzzles of human vanity, dear; and I don’t pretend to know the answer.

“亲爱的，这是人类虚荣心最大的谜题之一；我不会假装知道答案。

In all my life, the most arrogant people that I’ve known have been the most sensitive.

在我的一生中，我认识的最傲慢的人也是最敏感的。

The people who have done the most in contempt of other people’s opinion, and who consider themselves the highest above it, have been the most furious if it went against them.

那些最蔑视他人意见并认为自己高于他人意见的人，如果别人的意见与他们相悖，他们会变得最愤怒。

Arrogant and domineering people can’t stand the least, lightest, faintest breath of criticism.

嚣张跋扈的人，经不起最轻微、最轻微、最微弱的批评。

It just kills them.”

它只会杀死他们。”

“Papa, do you think George is _terribly_ arrogant and domineering?”

“爸爸，你认为乔治是不是非常傲慢、专横？”

“Oh, he’s still only a boy,” said Eugene consolingly.

“哦，他还只是个孩子，”尤金安慰道。

“There’s plenty of fine stuff in him—can’t help but be, because he’s Isabel Amberson’s son.”

“他身上有很多优秀的品质——这是无可避免的，因为他是伊莎贝尔·安伯森的儿子。”

Lucy stroked his hair, which was still almost as dark as her own.

露西抚摸着他的头发，他的头发几乎和她的一样黑。

“You liked her pretty well once, I guess, papa.”

“我猜你曾经很喜欢她，爸爸。”

“I do still,” he said quietly.

“我仍然如此，”他平静地说。

“She’s lovely—lovely!

“她很可爱——可爱！

Papa—” she paused, then continued—“I wonder sometimes—”

爸爸——”她停顿了一下，然后继续——“我有时想——”

“What?”

“什么？”

“I wonder just how she happened to marry Mr. Minafer.”

“我想知道她是怎么碰巧嫁给米纳弗先生的。”

“Oh, Minafer’s all right,” said Eugene.

“哦，米纳弗没事，”尤金说。

“He’s a quiet sort of man, but he’s a good man and a kind man.

“他是一个安静的人，但他是一个好人，一个善良的人。

He always was, and those things count.”

他一直都是这样，这些事情都很重要。”

“But in a way—well, I’ve heard people say there wasn’t anything to him at all except business and saving money.

“但在某种程度上——嗯，我听人们说，除了生意和存钱之外，他一无所有。

Miss Fanny Minafer herself told me that everything George and his mother have of their own—that is, just to spend as they like—she says it has always come from Major Amberson.”

范妮·米纳弗小姐本人告诉我，乔治和他母亲拥有的一切都是他们自己的——也就是说，只是为了随心所欲地花钱——她说这些东西一直都来自安伯森少校。”

“Thrift, Horatio!” said Eugene lightly.

“节俭吧，霍雷肖！”尤金轻声说道。

“Thrift’s an inheritance, and a common enough one here.

“节俭是一种遗传，而且在这里很常见。

The people who settled the country _had_ to save, so making and saving were taught as virtues, and the people, to the third generation, haven’t found out that making and saving are only means to an end.

建国的人们必须储蓄，所以创造和储蓄被当作美德来教导，而人们，直到第三代，还没有发现创造和储蓄只是达到目的的手段。

Minafer doesn’t believe in money being spent.

米纳弗不相信花钱。

He believes God made it to be invested and saved.”

他相信上帝创造它是为了投资和拯救。”

“But George isn’t saving.

“但乔治并没有存钱。

He’s reckless, and even if he is arrogant and conceited and bad-tempered, he’s awfully generous.”

他很鲁莽，即使他傲慢、自负、脾气暴躁，但他却非常慷慨。”

“Oh, he’s an Amberson,” said her father.

“哦，他是安伯森家族的人，”她父亲说。

“The Ambersons aren’t saving.

“安伯森一家没有储蓄。

They’re too much the other way, most of them.”

他们中的大多数人都反其道而行之。”

“I don’t think I should have called George bad-tempered,” Lucy said thoughtfully.

“我想我不应该说乔治脾气暴躁。”露西若有所思地说。

“No. I don’t think he is.”

“不。我不认为他是。”

“Only when he’s cross about something?” Morgan suggested, with a semblance of sympathetic gravity.

“只有当他对某件事生气的时候？”摩根带着一种同情的严肃建议道。

“Yes,” she said brightly, not perceiving that his intention was humorous.

“是的，”她轻快地说，并没有意识到他的意图是幽默的。

“All the rest of the time he’s really very amiable.

“其他时候他真的非常和蔼可亲。

Of course, he’s much more a perfect _child_, the whole time, than he realizes!

当然，他自始至终都比他意识到的更加完美！

He certainly behaved awfully to-night.” She jumped up, her indignation returning.

他今晚的表现确实很糟糕。”她跳了起来，愤怒又回来了。

“He did, indeed, and it won’t do to encourage him in it.

“他确实这么做了，但鼓励他这么做是没有用的。

I think he’ll find me pretty cool—for a week or so!”

我想他会发现我很酷——持续一周左右！”

Whereupon her father suffered a renewal of his attack of uproarious laughter.

于是，她的父亲又再次大笑起来。

Chapter XI

第十一章

In the matter of coolness, George met Lucy upon her own predetermined ground; in fact, he was there first, and, at their next encounter, proved loftier and more formal than she did.

在冷静方面，乔治在露西自己预定的地方遇见了她。事实上，他是第一个到场的，而且在他们下次见面时，他比她更加崇高和正式。

Their estrangement lasted three weeks, and then disappeared without any preliminary treaty: it had worn itself out, and they forgot it.

他们的疏远持续了三个星期，然后在没有任何初步条约的情况下消失了：它已经消失了，他们忘记了它。

At times, however, George found other disturbances to the friendship.

然而，有时乔治也会发现友谊受到其他干扰。

Lucy was “too much the village belle,” he complained; and took a satiric attitude toward his competitors, referring to them as her “local swains and bumpkins,” sulking for an afternoon when she reminded him that he, too, was at least “local.” She was a belle with older people as well; Isabel and Fanny were continually taking her driving, bringing her home with them to lunch or dinner, and making a hundred little engagements with her, and the Major had taken a great fancy to her, insisting upon her presence and her father’s at the Amberson family dinner at the Mansion every Sunday evening.

他抱怨说，露西“太像村里的美女了”。对他的竞争对手采取讽刺态度，称他们为她的“当地的情郎和乡巴佬”，当她提醒他他至少也是“当地人”时，他生了一个下午的闷气。对于年长的人来说，她也是一个美女。伊莎贝尔和范妮不断地开着她的车，带她回家吃午餐或晚餐，并与她进行了一百次小约会，少校非常喜欢她，每周日晚上都坚持让她和她父亲参加安伯森家族在宅邸举行的晚宴。

She knew how to flirt with old people, he said, as she sat next him at the table on one of these Sunday occasions; and he had always liked her father, even when Eugene was a “terror” long ago.

有一次周日，当她坐在他旁边的餐桌旁时，他说，她知道如何与老人调情。他一直很喜欢她的父亲，即使尤金很久以前还是个“恐怖分子”。

“Oh, yes, he was!” the Major laughed, when she remonstrated.

“哦，是的，他是！”当她抗议时，少校笑了。

“He came up here with my son George and some others for a serenade one night, and Eugene stepped into a bass fiddle, and the poor musicians just gave up!

“一天晚上，他和我的儿子乔治以及其他一些人来到这里演奏小夜曲，尤金开始演奏低音小提琴，可怜的音乐家就放弃了！

I had a pretty half-hour getting my son George upstairs.

我花了半个小时才把儿子乔治送上楼。

I remember!

我记得！

It was the last time Eugene ever touched a drop—but he’d touched plenty before that, young lady, and he daren’t deny it!

这是尤金最后一次碰水滴——但在此之前他已经碰过很多次了，年轻的女士，他不敢否认！

Well, well; there’s another thing that’s changed: hardly anybody drinks nowadays.

好吧，好吧；还有一件事发生了变化：现在几乎没有人喝酒了。

Perhaps it’s just as well, but things used to be livelier.

也许这样也好，但事情过去更加热闹。

That serenade was just before Isabel was married—and don’t you fret, Miss Lucy: your father remembers it well enough!” The old gentleman burst into laughter, and shook his finger at Eugene across the table.

那首小夜曲是在伊莎贝尔结婚之前唱的——露西小姐，你不用担心：你父亲记得很清楚！”老先生哈哈大笑，对着桌子对面的尤金摇了摇手指。

“The fact is,” the Major went on hilariously, “I believe if Eugene hadn’t broken that bass fiddle and given himself away, Isabel would never have taken Wilbur!

“事实是，”少校滑稽地继续说道，“我相信，如果尤金没有弄坏那把低音提琴并暴露自己，伊莎贝尔永远不会带走威尔伯！

I shouldn’t be surprised if that was about all the reason that Wilbur got her!

如果这就是威尔伯得到她的全部原因，我不应该感到惊讶！

What do you think, Wilbur?”

你觉得怎么样，威尔伯？”

“I shouldn’t be surprised,” said Wilbur placidly.

“我不应该感到惊讶，”威尔伯平静地说。

“If your notion is right, I’m glad ’Gene broke the fiddle.

“如果你的想法是对的，我很高兴吉恩弄坏了小提琴。

He was giving me a hard run!”

他让我很难受！”

The Major always drank three glasses of champagne at his Sunday dinner, and he was finishing the third.

少校在周日的晚餐上总是喝三杯香槟，而他即将喝完第三杯。

“What do you say about it, Isabel?

“你对此有何看法，伊莎贝尔？

By Jove!” he cried, pounding the table.

天哪！”他拍着桌子叫道。

“She’s blushing!”

“她脸红了！”

Isabel did blush, but she laughed.

伊莎贝尔脸红了，但她笑了。

“Who wouldn’t blush!” she cried, and her sister-in-law came to her assistance.

“谁不脸红啊！”她哭了，她的嫂子过来帮助她。

“The important thing,” said Fanny jovially, “is that Wilbur did get her, and not only got her, but kept her!”

“重要的是，”范妮高兴地说，“威尔伯确实得到了她，而且不仅得到了她，而且留住了她！”

Eugene was as pink as Isabel, but he laughed without any sign of embarrassment other than his heightened colour.

尤金的脸色和伊莎贝尔一样粉红，但他笑起来除了颜色加深之外没有任何尴尬的迹象。

“There’s another important thing—that is, for me,” he said.

“还有另一件重要的事情——对我来说，”他说。

“It’s the only thing that makes me forgive that bass viol for getting in my way.”

“这是唯一能让我原谅低音提琴妨碍我的事情。”

“What is it?” the Major asked.

“那是什么？”少校问道。

“Lucy,” said Morgan gently.

“露西，”摩根温和地说。

Isabel gave him a quick glance, all warm approval, and there was a murmur of friendliness round the table.

伊莎贝尔快速地看了他一眼，满是热情的认可，桌子周围响起了友好的低语声。

George was not one of those who joined in this applause.

乔治并不是加入鼓掌的人之一。

He considered his grandfather’s nonsense indelicate, even for second childhood, and he thought that the sooner the subject was dropped the better.

他认为祖父的胡言乱语很不雅，即使是在第二个童年，他认为这个话题越早结束越好。

However, he had only a slight recurrence of the resentment which had assailed him during the winter at every sign of his mother’s interest in Morgan; though he was still ashamed of his aunt sometimes, when it seemed to him that Fanny was almost publicly throwing herself at the widower’s head.

然而，他只是轻微地再次出现了那种在冬天时每当他母亲对摩根感兴趣的迹象时就袭击他的怨恨情绪。尽管有时他仍然为他的姨妈感到羞耻，因为在他看来，范妮几乎是在公开地向鳏夫发起攻击。

Fanny and he had one or two arguments in which her fierceness again astonished and amused him.

范妮和他吵过一两次架，范妮的凶猛再次让他惊讶又好笑。

“You drop your criticisms of your relatives,” she bade him, hotly, one day, “and begin thinking a little about your own behaviour!

“你别再批评你的亲戚了，”有一天，她激烈地吩咐他，“开始思考一下你自己的行为！

You say people will ‘talk’ about my—about my merely being pleasant to an old friend!

你说人们会“谈论”我——谈论我只是对一个老朋友感到愉快！

What do I care how they talk?

我管他们怎么说话？

I guess if people are talking about anybody in this family they’re talking about the impertinent little snippet that hasn’t any respect for anything, and doesn’t even know enough to attend to his own affairs!”

我想，如果人们谈论这个家里的任何人，他们谈论的就是那个无礼的小片段，他对任何事情都没有任何尊重，甚至不知道如何处理自己的事情！”

“‘Snippet,’ Aunt Fanny!” George laughed.

“‘片段’，范妮阿姨！”乔治笑了。

“How elegant!

“多么优雅啊！

And ‘little snippet’—when I’m over five-feet-eleven?”

还有‘小片段’——当我超过五英尺十一英寸的时候？”

“I said it!” she snapped, departing.

“我说了！”她厉声说道，转身离开。

“I don’t see how Lucy can stand you!”

“我不明白露西怎么能忍受你！”

“You’d make an amiable stepmother-in-law!” he called after her.

“你会成为一个和蔼可亲的继母！”他在她身后喊道。

“I’ll be careful about proposing to Lucy!”

“向露西求婚我会小心的！”

These were but roughish spots in a summer that glided by evenly and quickly enough, for the most part, and, at the end, seemed to fly.

这些只是夏天里的崎岖不平的地方，大部分时间都均匀而快速地滑过，最后，似乎在飞翔。

On the last night before George went back to be a Junior, his mother asked him confidently if it had not been a happy summer.

在乔治回去上小学前的最后一天晚上，他的母亲自信地问他这个夏天是否过得愉快。

He hadn’t thought about it, he answered.

他没有多想，他回答道。

“Oh, I suppose so.

“哦，我想是这样。

Why?”

为什么？

“I just thought it would be nice to hear you say so,” she said, smiling.

“我只是觉得听到你这么说会很高兴，”她微笑着说。

“I mean, it’s pleasant for people of my age to know that people of your age realize that they’re happy.”

“我的意思是，对于我这个年纪的人来说，知道你这个年纪的人意识到他们很幸福是很高兴的。”

“People of your age!” he repeated.

“和你这个年纪的人啊！”他重复道。

“You know you don’t look precisely like an old woman, mother.

“你知道你看起来并不完全像一个老妇人，妈妈。

Not precisely!”

不完全是这样！”

“No,” she said.

“不，”她说。

“And I suppose I feel about as young as you do, inside, but it won’t be many years before I must begin to look old.

“我想我的内心感觉和你一样年轻，但用不了多少年，我就会开始看起来老了。

It does come!” She sighed, still smiling.

果然来了！”她叹了口气，依然微笑着。

“It’s seemed to me that, it must have been a happy summer for you—a real ‘summer of roses and wine’—without the wine, perhaps.

“在我看来，这对你来说一定是一个快乐的夏天——一个真正的‘玫瑰和葡萄酒的夏天’——也许没有酒。

‘Gather ye roses while ye may’—or was it primroses?

“趁还可以的时候，采摘玫瑰吧”——或者是报春花？

Time does really fly, or perhaps it’s more like the sky—and smoke—”

时间确实过得很快，或者也许更像是天空——还有烟雾——”

George was puzzled.

乔治很困惑。

“What do you mean: time being like the sky and smoke?”

“时间如天如烟，这是什么意思？”

“I mean the things that we have and that we think are so solid—they’re like smoke, and time is like the sky that the smoke disappears into.

“我指的是我们所拥有的、我们认为如此坚实的东西——它们就像烟雾，而时间就像烟雾消失的天空。

You know how a wreath of smoke goes up from a chimney, and seems all thick and black and busy against the sky, as if it were going to do such important things and last forever, and you see it getting thinner and thinner—and then, in such a little while, it isn’t there at all; nothing is left but the sky, and the sky keeps on being just the same forever.”

你知道一圈烟雾是如何从烟囱中升起的，在天空的映衬下显得又浓又黑，忙忙碌碌，仿佛它将要做如此重要的事情并永远持续下去，然后你看到它变得越来越稀薄——然后，在这么短的时间内，它根本不存在；它消失了。除了天空，什么都没有留下，而天空永远保持原样。”

“It strikes me you’re getting mixed up,” said George cheerfully.

“我觉得你搞混了。”乔治高兴地说。

“I don’t see much resemblance between time and the sky, or between things and smoke-wreaths; but I do see one reason you like Lucy Morgan so much.

“我看不出时间和天空、事物和烟圈之间有多少相似之处；但我确实看到了你如此喜欢露西·摩根的一个原因。

She talks that same kind of wistful, moony way sometimes—I don’t mean to say I mind it in either of you, because I rather like to listen to it, and you’ve got a very good voice, mother.

她有时会用同样的渴望、阴郁的方式说话——我并不是说我介意你们中的任何一个，因为我更喜欢听它，而且你的声音很好，妈妈。

It’s nice to listen to, no matter how much smoke and sky, and so on, you talk.

听着很舒服，不管有多少烟雾和天空等等，你都在说话。

So’s Lucy’s for that matter; and I see why you’re congenial.

露西也是如此；我明白你为何如此友善了。

She talks that way to her father, too; and he’s right there with the same kind of guff.

她对她父亲也这么说。他就在那里，同样胡言乱语。

Well, it’s all right with me!” He laughed, teasingly, and allowed her to retain his hand, which she had fondly seized.

好吧，我没问题！”他戏谑地笑了笑，并让她握住他的手，她深情地握住了他的手。

“I’ve got plenty to think about when people drool along!”

“当人们流口水时，我有很多事情要考虑！”

She pressed his hand to her cheek, and a tear made a tiny warm streak across one of his knuckles.

她把他的手按在自己的脸颊上，一滴泪水在他的指关节上留下了一条温暖的细痕。

“For heaven’s sake!” he said.

“看在老天的份上！”他说。

“What’s the matter?

“怎么了？

Isn’t everything all right?”

一切都还好吗？”

“You’re going away!”

“你要走了！”

“Well, I’m coming back, don’t you suppose?

“嗯，我会回来的，你不觉得吗？

Is that all that worries you?”

这就是你所担心的一切吗？”

She cheered up, and smiled again, but shook her head.

她振作起来，再次微笑，但摇了摇头。

“I never can bear to see you go—that’s the most of it.

“我永远无法忍受看到你离开——这就是最重要的。

I’m a little bothered about your father, too.”

我也有点担心你父亲。”

“Why?”

“为什么？”

“It seems to me he looks so badly.

“在我看来，他看起来很糟糕。

Everybody thinks so.”

大家都这么认为。”

“What nonsense!” George laughed.

“胡说八道！”乔治笑了。

“He’s been looking that way all summer.

“整个夏天他都是这样看的。

He isn’t much different from the way he’s looked all his life, that I can see.

在我看来，他与他一生的样子并没有太大不同。

What’s the matter with him?”

他怎么了？

“He never talks much about his business to me but I think he’s been worrying about some investments he made last year.

“他从来不跟我谈论他的生意，但我认为他一直在担心他去年所做的一些投资。

I think his worry has affected his health.”

我认为他的担忧影响了他的健康。”

“What investments?” George demanded.

“什么投资？”乔治问道。

“He hasn’t gone into Mr. Morgan’s automobile concern, has he?”

“他没有涉足摩根先生的汽车公司，是吗？”

“No,” Isabel smiled.

“不，”伊莎贝尔微笑道。

“The ‘automobile concern’ is all Eugene’s, and it’s so small I understand it’s taken hardly anything.

“‘汽车公司’都是尤金的，而且规模很小，我知道它几乎没有拿走任何东西。

No; your father has always prided himself on making only the most absolutely safe investments, but two or three years ago he and your Uncle George both put a great deal—pretty much everything they could get together, I think—into the stock of rolling-mills some friends of theirs owned, and I’m afraid the mills haven’t been doing well.”

不；你父亲一直以只进行最绝对安全的投资而自豪，但两三年前，他和你的乔治叔叔都投入了大量资金——我想几乎是他们能凑到的所有东西——投入到他们的一些朋友拥有的轧机库存中，而我担心这些轧机的表现并不好。”

“What of that?

“那又怎样？

Father needn’t worry.

父亲不必担心。

You and I could take care of him the rest of his life on what grandfather—”

你和我可以照顾他余生，只要祖父——”

“Of course,” she agreed.

“当然，”她同意。

“But your father’s always lived so for his business and taken such pride in his sound investments; it’s a passion with him.

“但你父亲总是为自己的事业而活，并为自己稳健的投资感到自豪；这就是他的热情。

I—”

我——”

“Pshaw!

“呸！

He needn’t worry!

他不用担心！

You tell him we’ll look after him: we’ll build him a little stone bank in the backyard, if he busts up, and he can go and put his pennies in it every morning.

你告诉他我们会照顾他：如果他破产了，我们会在后院给他建一个小石头银行，他可以每天早上把他的便士放进去。

That’ll keep him just as happy as he ever was!” He kissed her.

这会让他像以前一样快乐！”他吻了她。

“Good-night, I’m going to tell Lucy good-bye.

“晚安，我要跟露西说再见了。

Don’t sit up for me.”

别给我坐起来。”

She walked to the front gate with him, still holding his hand, and he told her again not to “sit up” for him.

她和他一起走到前门，仍然握着他的手，他再次告诉她不要为他“坐起来”。

“Yes, I will,” she laughed.

“是的，我会的，”她笑道。

“You won’t be very late.”

“你不会迟到的。”

“Well—it’s my last night.”

“嗯——这是我的最后一晚了。”

“But I know Lucy, and she knows I want to see you, too, your last night.

“但我了解露西，她知道我也想见你，在你的最后一晚。

You’ll see: she’ll send you home promptly at eleven!”

你会看到：十一点她会准时送你回家！”

But she was mistaken: Lucy sent him home promptly at ten.

但她错了：露西十点准时送他回家。

Chapter XII

第十二章

Isabel’s uneasiness about her husband’s health—sometimes reflected in her letters to George during the winter that followed—had not been alleviated when the accredited Senior returned for his next summer vacation, and she confided to him in his room, soon after his arrival, that “something” the doctor had said to her lately had made her more uneasy than ever.

伊莎贝尔对她丈夫健康状况的不安——有时会反映在随后冬天写给乔治的信中——当那位获得认可的高级医生回来度暑假时，这种不安并没有得到缓解，他到达后不久，她在他的房间里向他吐露，医生最近对她说的“一些话”让她比以往任何时候都更加不安。

“Still worrying over his rolling-mills investments?” George asked, not seriously impressed.

“还在担心他的轧机投资吗？”乔治问道，并没有留下深刻的印象。

“I’m afraid it’s past that stage from what Dr. Rainey says.

“按照雷尼博士的说法，恐怕已经过了那个阶段了。

His worries only aggravate his condition now.

他的担忧只会让他的病情更加恶化。

Dr. Rainey says we ought to get him away.”

雷尼医生说我们应该把他带走。”

“Well, let’s do it, then.”

“嗯，那我们就这么办吧。”

“He won’t go.”

“他不会去。”

“He’s a man awfully set in his ways; that’s true,” said George.

“他是一个非常固守己见的人；这是真的，”乔治说。

“I don’t think there’s anything much the matter with him, though, and he looks just the same to me.

“不过，我不认为他有什么大问题，而且在我看来他也没有什么问题。

Have you seen Lucy lately?

你最近见过露西吗？

How is she?”

她怎么样了？

“Hasn’t she written you?”

“她没有写信给你吗？”

“Oh, about once a month,” he answered carelessly.

“哦，大概一个月一次吧。”他漫不经心地回答。

“Never says much about herself.

“从不过多谈论自己。

How’s she look?”

她看起来怎么样？”

“She looks—pretty!” said Isabel.

“她看起来——漂亮！”伊莎贝尔说。

“I suppose she wrote you they’ve moved?”

“我猜她写信给你说他们已经搬家了？”

“Yes; I’ve got her address.

“是的，我有她的地址。

She said they were building.”

她说他们正在建造。”

“They did.

“他们做到了。

It’s all finished, and they’ve been in it a month.

一切都结束了，他们已经一个月了。

Lucy is so capable; she keeps house exquisitely.

露西太能干了；她把家打理得井井有条。

It’s small, but oh, such a pretty little house!”

虽然很小，但是哦，多么漂亮的小房子啊！”

“Well, that’s fortunate,” George said.

“嗯，这很幸运，”乔治说。

“One thing I’ve always felt they didn’t know a great deal about is architecture.”

“我一直觉得他们对建筑了解不多。”

“Don’t they?” asked Isabel, surprised.

“不是吗？”伊莎贝尔惊讶地问道。

“Anyhow, their house is charming.

“总之，他们的房子很迷人。

It’s way out beyond the end of Amberson Boulevard; it’s quite near that big white house with a gray-green roof somebody built out there a year or so ago.

它位于安伯森大道尽头之外。它离那座灰绿色屋顶的大白宫很近，大约一年前有人在那里建造的。

There are any number of houses going up, out that way; and the trolley-line runs within a block of them now, on the next street, and the traction people are laying tracks more than three miles beyond.

那边有很多房子正在拔地而起；现在，有轨电车线路就在他们附近的一个街区内，就在下一条街上，牵引人员正在三英里外铺设轨道。

I suppose you’ll be driving out to see Lucy to-morrow.”

我想你明天会开车去看露西。”

“I thought—” George hesitated.

“我以为——”乔治犹豫了一下。

“I thought perhaps I’d go after dinner this evening.”

“我想也许我今晚吃完晚饭就去。”

At this his mother laughed, not astonished.

听到这里，他的母亲笑了，并不感到惊讶。

“It was only my feeble joke about ‘to-morrow,’ Georgie!

“这只是我关于‘明天’的无力的玩笑，乔吉！

I was pretty sure you couldn’t wait that long.

我很确定你等不了那么久。

Did Lucy write you about the factory?”

露西给你写过关于工厂的事吗？”

“No. What factory?”

“没有。什么工厂？”

“The automobile shops.

“汽车商店。

They had rather a dubious time at first, I’m afraid, and some of Eugene’s experiments turned out badly, but this spring they’ve finished eight automobiles and sold them all, and they’ve got twelve more almost finished, and they’re sold already!

恐怕他们一开始的日子相当可疑，尤金的一些实验结果很糟糕，但今年春天他们已经完成了八辆汽车并全部卖掉了，而且他们还有十二辆即将完成，而且已经卖掉了！

Eugene’s so gay over it!”

尤金对此非常高兴！”

“What do his old sewing-machines look like?

“他的旧缝纫机是什么样子的？

Like that first one he had when they came here?”

就像他们来到这里时他拥有的第一个一样？”

“No, indeed!

“不，确实如此！

These have rubber tires blown up with air—pneumatic!

这些轮胎的橡胶轮胎是充气的——气动！

And they aren’t so high; they’re very easy to get into, and the engine’s in front—Eugene thinks that’s a great improvement.

而且它们并没有那么高；它们很容易进入，而且发动机在前面——尤金认为这是一个很大的进步。

They’re very interesting to look at; behind the driver’s seat there’s a sort of box where four people can sit, with a step and a little door in the rear, and—”

它们看起来很有趣；驾驶座后面有一个可以坐四个人的包厢，后面有一个台阶和一个小门，而且——”

“I know all about it,” said George.

“我都知道了，”乔治说。

“I’ve seen any number like that, East.

“我见过这样的数字，伊斯特。

You can see all you want of ’em, if you stand on Fifth Avenue half an hour, any afternoon.

只要任何下午你在第五大道上站半小时，你就能看到你想要的一切。

I’ve seen half-a-dozen go by almost at the same time—within a few minutes, anyhow; and of course electric hansoms are a common sight there any day.

我见过六个人几乎同时经过——至少在几分钟之内；当然，电动双轮马车每天都在那里随处可见。

I hired one, myself, the last time I was there.

上次我在那里时，我自己雇了一个。

How fast do Mr. Morgan’s machines go?”

摩根先生的机器速度有多快？

“Much too fast!

“太快了！

It’s very exhilarating—but rather frightening; and they do make a fearful uproar.

这非常令人兴奋，但也相当令人恐惧；他们确实发出了可怕的骚动。

He says, though, he thinks he sees a way to get around the noisiness in time.”

不过他说，他认为自己找到了及时解决噪音的方法。”

“I don’t mind the noise,” said George.

“我不介意噪音，”乔治说。

“Give me a horse, for mine, though, any day.

“给我一匹马吧，不管怎样，都可以。

I must get up a race with one of these things: Pendennis’ll leave it one mile behind in a two-mile run.

我必须带着这样的事情开始一场比赛：潘丹尼斯会在两英里的跑步中落后一英里。

How’s grandfather?”

爷爷怎么样了？”

“He looks well, but he complains sometimes of his heart: I suppose that’s natural at his age—and it’s an Amberson trouble.” Having mentioned this, she looked anxious instantly.

“他看起来不错，但有时他会抱怨自己的心脏：我想这在他这个年纪是很自然的——这是安伯森的麻烦。”说到这里，她顿时神色焦急起来。

“Did you ever feel any weakness there, Georgie?”

“你有没有感觉到那里有什么弱点，乔吉？”

“No!” he laughed.

“不！”他笑了。

“Are you sure, dear?”

“你确定吗，亲爱的？”

“No!” And he laughed again.

“不！”他又笑了。

“Did you?”

“是吗？”

“Oh, I think not—at least, the doctor told me he thought my heart was about all right.

“哦，我想不会——至少，医生告诉我他认为我的心脏还不错。

He said I needn’t be alarmed.”

他说我不用惊慌。”

“I should think not!

“我想应该不会吧！

Women do seem to be always talking about health: I suppose they haven’t got enough else to think of!”

女性似乎总是​​在谈论健康：我想她们没有足够多的事情来考虑！”

“That must be it,” she said gayly.

“一定是这样，”她高兴地说。

“We’re an idle lot!”

“我们就是一群闲人！”

George had taken off his coat.

乔治已经脱掉外套了。

“I don’t like to hint to a lady,” he said, “but I do want to dress before dinner.”

“我不喜欢向女士暗示，”他说，“但我确实想在晚餐前穿好衣服。”

“Don’t be long; I’ve got to do a lot of looking at you, dear!” She kissed him and ran away singing.

“不要太长；我得多看你一眼，亲爱的！”她吻了他，然后唱着歌跑开了。

But his Aunt Fanny was not so fond; and at the dinner-table there came a spark of liveliness into her eye when George patronizingly asked her what was the news in her own “particular line of sport.”

但范妮姨妈却不太喜欢。在餐桌上，当乔治居高临下地问她自己的“特定运动领域”有什么新闻时，她的眼中闪现出活泼的光芒。

“What do you mean, Georgie?” she asked quietly.

“你什么意思，乔吉？”她轻声问道。

“Oh I mean: What’s the news in the fast set generally?

“哦，我的意思是：快报中一般有什么新闻？

You been causing any divorces lately?”

你最近有离婚的事吗？”

“No,” said Fanny, the spark in her eye getting brighter.

“不，”范妮说，眼中的火花越来越亮。

“I haven’t been causing anything.”

“我没有造成任何事情。”

“Well, what’s the gossip?

“嗯，有什么八卦？

You usually hear pretty much everything that goes on around the nooks and crannies in this town, I hear.

我听说，你通常会听到这个镇上各个角落和缝隙中发生的一切。

What’s the last from the gossips’ corner, auntie?”

阿姨，八卦角落里最后的消息是什么？”

Fanny dropped her eyes, and the spark was concealed, but a movement of her lower lip betokened a tendency to laugh, as she replied, “There hasn’t been much gossip lately, except the report that Lucy Morgan and Fred Kinney are engaged—and that’s quite old, by this time.”

范妮垂下眼帘，火花被隐藏起来，但她的下唇一动，似乎要笑了，她回答道：“最近没什么流言蜚语，除了露西·摩根和弗莱德·金尼订婚的报道——而且这已经是很老的事了。”

Undeniably, this bit of mischief was entirely successful, for there was a clatter upon George’s plate.

不可否认，这一小恶作剧完全成功了，因为乔治的盘子发出了咔哒声。

“What—what do you think you’re talking about?” he gasped.

“什么——你认为你在说什么？”他喘着气。

Miss Fanny looked up innocently.

范妮小姐无辜地抬起头来。

“About the report of Lucy Morgan’s engagement to Fred Kinney.”

“关于露西·摩根与弗雷德·金尼订婚的报道。”

George turned dumbly to his mother, and Isabel shook her head reassuringly.

乔治呆呆地转向他的母亲，伊莎贝尔安慰地摇摇头。

“People are always starting rumours,” she said.

“人们总是散布谣言，”她说。

“I haven’t paid any attention to this one.”

“我没关注过这个。”

“But you—you’ve heard it?” he stammered.

“但是你——你听说过吗？”他结结巴巴地说。

“Oh, one hears all sorts of nonsense, dear.

“噢，人们听到的是各种各样的废话，亲爱的。

I haven’t the slightest idea that it’s true.”

我一点也不知道这是真的。”

“Then you have heard it!”

“那你也听到了！”

“I wouldn’t let it take my appetite,” his father suggested drily.

“我不会让它影响我的胃口，”他父亲冷冷地建议道。

“There are plenty of girls in the world!”

“世界上有很多女孩！”

George turned pale.

乔治脸色苍白。

“Eat your dinner, Georgie,” his aunt said sweetly.

“吃晚饭吧，乔吉，”他的姨妈甜甜地说。

“Food will do you good.

“食物会对你有好处。

I didn’t say I knew this rumour was true.

我并没有说我知道这个谣言是真的。

I only said I’d heard it.”

我只是说我听到了。”

“When?

“什么时候？

When did you hear it!”

你什么时候听到的！”

“Oh, months ago!” And Fanny found any further postponement of laughter impossible.

“哦，几个月前！”范妮发现再也不可能再推迟笑声了。

“Fanny, you’re a hard-hearted creature,” Isabel said gently.

“范妮，你是个铁石心肠的人。”伊莎贝尔温柔地说。

“You really are.

“你确实是。

Don’t pay any attention to her, George.

别理她，乔治。

Fred Kinney’s only a clerk in his uncle’s hardware place: he couldn’t marry for ages—even if anybody would accept him!”

弗雷德·金尼只是他叔叔五金店的一名职员：他很长时间都无法结婚——即使有人愿意接受他！”

George breathed tumultuously.

乔治呼吸急促。

“I don’t care anything about ‘ages’!

“我不在乎‘年龄’！

What’s that got to do with it?” he said, his thoughts appearing to be somewhat disconnected.

这有什么关系？”他说道，他的思绪似乎有些脱节。

“‘Ages,’ don’t mean anything!

“‘岁月’没有任何意义！

I only want to know—I want to know—I want—” He stopped.

我只想知道——我想知道——我想——”他停了下来。

“What do you want?” his father asked crossly.

“你想要什么？”他父亲生气地问道。

“Why don’t you say it?

“你为什么不说？

Don’t make such a fuss.”

别这么大惊小怪。”

“I’m not—not at all,” George declared, pushing his chair back from the table.

“我没有——一点也没有，”乔治一边宣称，一边把椅子从桌子上推开。

“You must finish your dinner, dear,” his mother urged.

“亲爱的，你必须吃完晚饭，”他的母亲催促道。

“Don’t—”

“别——”

“I have finished.

“我已经说完了。

I’ve eaten all I want.

我已经吃完了所有我想吃的。

I don’t want any more than I wanted.

我不想要比我想要的更多的东西。

I don’t want—I—” He rose, still incoherent.

我不想——我——”他站了起来，语无伦次。

“I prefer—I want—Please excuse me!”

“我更喜欢——我想要——请原谅！”

He left the room, and a moment later the screens outside the open front door were heard to slam.

他离开了房间，过了一会儿，就听到开着的前门外的纱窗砰地关上的声音。

“Fanny!

“范妮！

You shouldn’t—”

你不应该——”

“Isabel, don’t reproach me.

“伊莎贝尔，别责备我。

He did have plenty of dinner, and I only told the truth: everybody has been saying—”

他确实吃得很饱，而我只说了实话：每个人都在说——”

“But there isn’t any truth in it.”

“但这里面没有任何真相。”

“We don’t actually know there isn’t,” Miss Fanny insisted, giggling.

“我们实际上不知道不存在，”范妮小姐咯咯笑着坚持说。

“We’ve never asked Lucy.”

“我们从来没有问过露西。”

“I wouldn’t ask her anything so absurd!”

“我不会问她这么荒唐的问题！”

“George would,” George’s father remarked.

“乔治会的，”乔治的父亲说。

“That’s what he’s gone to do.”

“这就是他要做的事。”

Mr. Minafer was not mistaken: that was what his son had gone to do.

米纳弗先生没有弄错：这就是他儿子去做的事。

Lucy and her father were just rising from their dinner table when the stirred youth arrived at the front door of the new house.

露西和她的父亲刚从餐桌上站起来，激动的年轻人就来到了新房子的前门。

It was a cottage, however, rather than a house; and Lucy had taken a free hand with the architect, achieving results in white and green, outside, and white and blue, inside, to such effect of youth and daintiness that her father complained of “too much spring-time!” The whole place, including his own bedroom, was a young damsel’s boudoir, he said, so that nowhere could he smoke a cigar without feeling like a ruffian.

然而，那是一座小屋，而不是一座房子。露西在建筑师的帮助下放开了手脚，实现了外部白色和绿色、内部白色和蓝色的效果，达到了如此年轻和精致的效果，以至于她的父亲抱怨“春天太多了！”他说，整个地方，包括他自己的卧室，都是一位年轻姑娘的闺房，所以无论在哪里抽雪茄，他都会感觉自己像个恶棍。

However, he was smoking when George arrived, and he encouraged George to join him in the pastime, but the caller, whose air was both tense and preoccupied, declined with something like agitation.

然而，当乔治到达时，他正在抽烟，他鼓励乔治和他一起消遣，但来电者的神情既紧张又心事重重，带着某种类似激动的情绪拒绝了。

“I never smoke—that is, I’m seldom—I mean, no thanks,” he said.

“我从不吸烟——也就是说，我很少——我的意思是，不，谢谢，”他说。

“I mean not at all.

“我的意思是一点也不。

I’d rather not.”

我宁愿不。”

“Aren’t you well, George?” Eugene asked, looking at him in perplexity.

“你还好吗，乔治？”尤金疑惑地看着他问道。

“Have you been overworking at college?

“你在大学期间工作过度吗？

You do look rather pa—”

你看起来确实很糟糕——”

“I don’t work,” said George.

“我不工作，”乔治说。

“I mean I don’t work.

“我的意思是我不工作。

I think, but I don’t work.

我想，但我不工作。

I only work at the end of the term.

我只在学期末工作。

There isn’t much to do.”

没什么可做的。”

Eugene’s perplexity was little decreased, and a tinkle of the door-bell afforded him obvious relief.

尤金的困惑并没有减少，门铃的叮当声让他明显松了口气。

“It’s my foreman,” he said, looking at his watch.

“这是我的工头，”他看着手表说道。

“I’ll take him out in the yard to talk.

“我会带他到院子里去谈谈。

This is no place for a foreman.” And he departed, leaving the “living room” to Lucy and George.

这里不是工头待的地方。”然后他离开了，把“客厅”留给了露西和乔治。

It was a pretty room, white panelled and blue curtained—and no place for a foreman, as Eugene said.

这是一个漂亮的房间，白色的镶板和蓝色的窗帘——正如尤金所说，没有工头的地方。

There was a grand piano, and Lucy stood leaning back against it, looking intently at George, while her fingers, behind her, absently struck a chord or two.

那里有一架大钢琴，露西靠着它站着，专心地看着乔治，而她的手指在她身后，心不在焉地弹着一两个和弦。

And her dress was the dress for that room, being of blue and white, too; and the high colour in her cheeks was far from interfering with the general harmony of things—George saw with dismay that she was prettier than ever, and naturally he missed the reassurance he might have felt had he been able to guess that Lucy, on her part, was finding him better looking than ever.

她的衣服也是那个房间的衣服，也是蓝色和白色的。她脸颊上的红晕并没有干扰事物的整体和谐——乔治沮丧地发现她比以前更漂亮了，如果他能猜到露西觉得他比以前更漂亮了，他自然会怀念他可能会感到的安心。

For, however unusual the scope of George’s pride, vanity of beauty was not included; he did not think about his looks.

因为，无论乔治的骄傲有多不寻常，都不包括美丽的虚荣心。他没有考虑自己的外表。

“What’s wrong, George?” she asked softly.

“怎么了，乔治？”她轻声问道。

“What do you mean: ‘What’s wrong?’”

“你说‘怎么了？’是什么意思？”

“You’re awfully upset about something.

“你对某件事感到非常不安。

Didn’t you get though your examination all right?”

你考试没考好吗？”

“Certainly I did.

“我当然做到了。

What makes you think anything’s ‘wrong’ with me?”

是什么让你觉得我有什么‘问题’？”

“You do look pale, as papa said, and it seemed to me that the way you talked sounded—well, a little confused.”

“正如爸爸所说，你看起来确实很苍白，而且在我看来，你说话的方式听起来——嗯，有点困惑。”

“‘Confused’!

“'使困惑'！

I said I didn’t care to smoke.

我说我不想抽烟。

What in the world is confused about that?”

这到底有什么好困惑的？”

“Nothing.

“没有什么。

But—”

但是——”

“See here!” George stepped close to her.

“看这里！”乔治走近她。

“Are you glad to see me?”

“你很高兴见到我吗？”

“You needn’t be so fierce about it!” Lucy protested, laughing at his dramatic intensity.

“你不用这么激烈！”露西抗议，嘲笑他戏剧性的紧张。

“Of course I am!

“我当然是！

How long have I been looking forward to it?”

我等了多久了？”

“I don’t know,” he said sharply, abating nothing of his fierceness.

“我不知道，”他尖锐地说，丝毫没有减弱他的凶狠。

“How long have you?”

“你多久了？”

“Why—ever since you went away!”

“怎么——自从你走了之后！”

“Is that true?

“是这样吗？

Lucy, is that true?”

露西，这是真的吗？”

“You are funny!” she said.

“你真有趣！”她说。

“Of course it’s true.

“当然是真的。

Do tell me what’s the matter with you, George!”

告诉我你怎么了，乔治！”

“I will!” he exclaimed.

“我会！”他惊呼道。

“I was a boy when I saw you last.

“上次见到你时我还是个孩子。

I see that now, though I didn’t then.

我现在明白了，尽管当时我没有。

Well, I’m not a boy any longer.

好吧，我不再是个男孩了。

I’m a man, and a man has a right to demand a totally different treatment.”

我是一个男人，男人有权利要求完全不同的待遇。”

“Why has he?”

“为什么他有？”

“What?”

“什么？”

“I don’t seem to be able to understand you at all, George.

“我似乎根本无法理解你，乔治。

Why shouldn’t a boy be treated just as well as a man?”

为什么不能像对待男人一样对待男孩呢？”

George seemed to find himself at a loss.

乔治似乎发现自己不知所措。

“Why shouldn’t—Well, he shouldn’t, because a man has a right to certain explanations.”

“为什么不应该——嗯，他不应该，因为一个人有权得到某些解释。”

“What explanations?”

“什么解释？”

“Whether he’s been made a toy of!” George almost shouted.

“他是不是被当成玩具了！”乔治几乎喊出了声。

“That’s what I want to know!”

“这就是我想知道的！”

Lucy shook her head despairingly.

露西绝望地摇摇头。

“You are the queerest person!

“你是最奇怪的人！

You say you’re a man now, but you talk more like a boy than ever.

你说你现在是个男人了，但你说话比以前更像个男孩了。

What does make you so excited?”

什么事让你这么兴奋？”

“‘Excited!’” he stormed.

“‘兴奋！’”他怒道。

“Do you dare to stand there and call me ‘excited’?

“你敢站在那儿喊我‘激动’吗？

I tell you, I never have been more calm or calmer in my life!

我告诉你，我这辈子从来没有这么平静、这么平静过！

I don’t know that a person needs to be called ‘excited’ because he demands explanations that are his simple due!”

我不知道一个人需要被称为‘兴奋’，因为他需要简单的解释！”

“What in the world do you want me to explain?”

“你到底想让我解释什么？”

“Your conduct with Fred Kinney!” George shouted.

“你对弗雷德·金尼的行为！”乔治喊道。

Lucy uttered a sudden cry of laughter; she was delighted.

露西突然大笑起来。她很高兴。

“It’s been awful!” she said.

“太糟糕了！”她说。

“I don’t know that I ever heard of worse misbehaviour!

“我不知道我曾听说过更糟糕的不当行为！

Papa and I have been twice to dinner with his family, and I’ve been three times to church with Fred—and once to the circus!

我和爸爸曾两次与他的家人共进晚餐，我曾三次与弗雷德一起去教堂，还有一次去马戏团！

I don’t know when they’ll be here to arrest me!”

不知道什么时候他们才会来抓我！”

“Stop that!” George commanded fiercely.

“别这样！”乔治严厉地命令道。

“I want to know just one thing, and I mean to know it, too!”

“我只想知道一件事，而且我也想知道！”

“Whether I enjoyed the circus?”

“我喜欢看马戏吗？”

“I want to know if you’re engaged to him!”

“我想知道你是否已经和他订婚了！”

“No!” she cried and lifting her face close to his for the shortest instant possible, she gave him a look half merry, half defiant, but all fond.

“不！”她哭着，在尽可能短的时间内把脸凑近他的脸，她的表情一半是快乐，一半是挑衅，但充满了喜爱。

It was an adorable look.

这是一个可爱的样子。

“Lucy!” he said huskily.

“露西！”他沙哑地说。

But she turned quickly from him, and ran to the other end of the room.

但她很快转身离开他，跑到房间的另一端。

He followed awkwardly, stammering:

他尴尬地跟在后面，结结巴巴地说：

“Lucy, I want—I want to ask you.

“露西，我想——我想问你。

Will you—will you—will you be engaged to me?”

你愿意——你愿意——你愿意和我订婚吗？

She stood at a window, seeming to look out into the summer darkness, her back to him.

她站在窗前，背对着他，似乎在眺望夏日的黑暗。

“Will you, Lucy?”

“你愿意吗，露西？”

“No,” she murmured, just audibly.

“不，”她低声说道，声音很小。

“Why not?”

“为什么不呢？”

“I’m older than you.”

“我比你大。”

“Eight months!”

“八个月！”

“You’re too young.”

“你太年轻了。”

“Is that—” he said, gulping—“is that the only reason you won’t?”

“这就是——”他吞咽着口水说——“这是你不肯这么做的唯一原因吗？”

She did not answer.

她没有回答。

As she stood, persistently staring out of the window, with her back to him, she did not see how humble his attitude had become; but his voice was low, and it shook so that she could have no doubt of his emotion.

当她站着，背对着他，一直盯着窗外的时候，她并没有看到他的态度变得多么谦虚；但他的声音很低，而且带着颤抖，让她无法怀疑他的情绪。

“Lucy, please forgive me for making such a row,” he said, thus gently.

“露西，请原谅我的争吵，”他温柔地说。

“I’ve been—I’ve been terribly upset—terribly!

“我一直——我一直非常沮丧——非常沮丧！

You know how I feel about you, and always have felt about you.

你知道我对你的感觉，并且一直对你有感觉。

I’ve shown it in every single thing I’ve done since the first time I met you, and I know you know it.

自从第一次见到你以来，我所做的每一件事都体现了这一点，我知道你知道这一点。

Don’t you?”

你不是吗？

Still she did not move or speak.

她仍然没有动，也没有说话。

“Is the only reason you won’t be engaged to me you think I’m too young, Lucy?”

“你不和我订婚的唯一原因是你认为我太年轻了吗，露西？”

“It’s—it’s reason enough,” she said faintly.

“这——这就是足够的理由了，”她微弱地说。

At that he caught one of her hands, and she turned to him: there were tears in her eyes, tears which he did not understand at all.

这时他抓住了她的一只手，她转向他：她的眼里含着泪水，他根本不明白这些泪水。

“Lucy, you little dear!” he cried.

“露西，你这个小可爱！”他哭了。

“I knew you—”

“我认识你——”

“No, no!” she said, and she pushed him away, withdrawing her hand.

“不，不！”她说着，将他推开，收回了手。

“George, let’s not talk of solemn things.”

“乔治，我们不要谈论严肃的事情了。”

“‘Solemn things!’ Like what?”

“‘庄严的事情！’比如什么？”

“Like—being engaged.”

“就像——订婚了。”

But George had become altogether jubilant, and he laughed triumphantly.

但乔治却变得非常高兴，他得意地笑了。

“Good gracious, that isn’t solemn!”

“天啊，这可不庄重啊！”

“It is, too!” she said, wiping her eyes.

“也是啊！”她一边说，一边擦着眼睛。

“It’s too solemn for us.”

“这对我们来说太庄严了。”

“No, it isn’t!

“不，不是这样！

I—”

我——”

“Let’s sit down and be sensible, dear,” she said.

“亲爱的，让我们坐下来理智一点，”她说。

“You sit over there—”

“你坐那边——”

“I will if you’ll call me, ‘dear’ again.”

“如果你再叫我一声‘亲爱的’，我会的。”

“No,” she said.

“不，”她说。

“I’ll only call you that once again this summer—the night before you go away.”

“今年夏天我只会再这么叫你一次——在你离开的前一天晚上。”

“That will have to do, then,” he laughed, “so long as I know we’re engaged.”

“那么，”他笑着说，“只要我知道我们订婚了。”

“But we’re not!” she protested.

“但我们不是！”她抗议道。

“And we never will be, if you don’t promise not to speak of it again until—until I tell you to!”

“如果你不保证不再谈论它，直到——直到我告诉你，我们就永远不会谈论它！”

“I won’t promise that,” said the happy George.

“我不会答应这个，”乔治高兴地说。

“I’ll only promise not to speak of it till the next time you call me ‘dear’; and you’ve promised to call me that the night before I leave for my senior year.”

“我只保证在你下次叫我‘亲爱的’之前不再谈论这件事；你答应过在我去读高三的前一天晚上给我打电话。”

“Oh, but I didn’t!” she said earnestly, then hesitated.

“哦，但我没有！”她认真地说，然后犹豫了。

“Did I?”

“是吗？”

“Didn’t you?”

“你不是吗？”

“I don’t think I meant it,” she murmured, her wet lashes flickering above troubled eyes.

“我想我不是故意的，”她低声说道，湿润的睫毛在困扰的眼睛上方闪烁。

“I know one thing about you,” he said gayly, his triumph increasing.

“我知道你的一件事，”他高兴地说，他的胜利感越来越强。

“You never went back on anything you said, yet, and I’m not afraid of this being the first time!”

“你从来没有食言过，而且我也不怕这是第一次！”

“But we mustn’t let—” she faltered; then went on tremulously, “George, we’ve got on so well together, we won’t let this make a difference between us, will we?” And she joined in his laughter.

“但我们不能让——”她结结巴巴地说。然后颤抖着继续说道：“乔治，我们相处得很好，我们不会让这件事影响我们之间的关系，不是吗？”她也加入了他的笑声。

“It will all depend on what you tell me the night before I go away.

“这完全取决于我离开前一天晚上你告诉我的内容。

You agree we’re going to settle things then, don’t you, Lucy?”

你同意我们接下来就解决问题，不是吗，露西？”

“I don’t promise.”

“我不保证。”

“Yes, you do!

“是的，你知道！

Don’t you?”

你不是吗？

“Well—”

“嗯——”

Chapter XIII

第十三章

Tonight George began a jubilant warfare upon his Aunt Fanny, opening the campaign upon his return home at about eleven o’clock.

今晚，乔治向他的范妮姨妈发起了一场兴高采烈的战争，在他十一点左右回家时开始了这场战役。

Fanny had retired, and was presumably asleep, but George, on the way to his own room, paused before her door, and serenaded her in a full baritone:

范妮已经退休了，大概已经睡着了，但是乔治在回自己房间的路上，在她的门前停了下来，用浑厚的男中音为她唱了小夜曲：

“As I walk along the Boy de Balong With my independent air, The people all declare, ‘He must be a millionaire!’ Oh, you hear them sigh, and wish to die, And see them wink the other eye At the man that broke the bank at Monte Carlo!”

“当我以独立的姿态沿着男孩德巴龙行走时，人们都宣称，‘他一定是百万富翁！’哦，你听到他们叹息，希望死去，看到他们对那个在蒙特卡洛破产的人眨着另一只眼睛！”

Isabel came from George’s room, where she had been reading, waiting for him.

伊莎贝尔从乔治的房间里出来，她一直在那里读书，等待他。

“I’m afraid you’ll disturb your father, dear.

“我担心你会打扰你的父亲，亲爱的。

I wish you’d sing more, though—in the daytime!

不过，我希望你能多唱歌——在白天！

You have a splendid voice.”

你有一副美妙的声音。”

“Good-night, old lady!”

“晚安，老太太！”

“I thought perhaps I—Didn’t you want me to come in with you and talk a little?”

“我想也许我——你不想让我和你一起进去谈谈吗？”

“Not to-night.

“今晚不行。

You go to bed.

你去睡觉吧。

Good-night, old lady!”

老太太晚安！”

He kissed her hilariously, entered his room with a skip, closed his door noisily; and then he could be heard tossing things about, loudly humming “The Man that Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo.”

他滑稽地吻了她，提着一个桶进了自己的房间，大声地关上了门。然后可以听到他扔东西，大声哼着“蒙特卡洛打破银行的人”。

Smiling, his mother knelt outside his door to pray; then, with her “Amen,” pressed her lips to the bronze door-knob; and went silently to her own apartment.

他的母亲微笑着跪在他的门外祈祷；然后，她说了一声“阿门”，把嘴唇贴在青铜门把手上。然后默默地回到了自己的公寓。

After breakfasting in bed, George spent the next morning at his grandfather’s and did not encounter his Aunt Fanny until lunch, when she seemed to be ready for him.

乔治在床上吃完早餐后，第二天早上在祖父家度过，直到午餐才遇到范妮姨妈，当时她似乎已经准备好迎接他了。

“Thank you so much for the serenade, George!” she said.

“非常感谢你的小夜曲，乔治！”她说。

“Your poor father tells me he’d just got to sleep for the first time in two nights, but after your kind attentions he lay awake the rest of last night.”

“你可怜的父亲告诉我，他刚刚在两个晚上第一次入睡，但经过你的善意照顾，他昨晚一直睡不着。”

“Perfectly true,” Mr. Minafer said grimly.

“完全正确，”米纳弗先生严肃地说。

“Of course, I didn’t know, sir,” George hastened to assure him.

“当然，我不知道，先生，”乔治赶紧向他保证。

“I’m awfully sorry.

“我非常抱歉。

But Aunt Fanny was so gloomy and excited before I went out, last evening, I thought she needed cheering up.”

但范妮阿姨在我出去之前却是那么的郁闷和兴奋，昨晚我觉得她需要振作起来。”

“I!” Fanny jeered.

“我！”范妮嘲笑道。

“I was gloomy?

“我心情郁闷？

I was excited?

我很兴奋？

You mean about that engagement?”

你是说那次订婚吗？”

“Yes.

“是的。

Weren’t you?

你不是吗？

I thought I heard you worrying over somebody’s being engaged.

我想我听到你担心有人订婚了。

Didn’t I hear you say you’d heard Mr. Eugene Morgan was engaged to marry some pretty little seventeen-year-old girl?”

我没听见你说你听说尤金·摩根先生要娶一个十七岁的漂亮小女孩了吗？”

Fanny was stung, but she made a brave effort.

范妮被刺痛了，但她勇敢地努力了。

“Did you ask Lucy?” she said, her voice almost refusing the teasing laugh she tried to make it utter.

“你问过露西了吗？”她说，她的声音几乎拒绝了她试图发出的嘲笑声。

“Did you ask her when Fred Kinney and she—”

“你有没有问过她，弗雷德·金尼和她什么时候——”

“Yes.

是的。

That story wasn’t true.

那个故事不是真的。

But the other one—” Here he stared at Fanny, and then affected dismay.

但另一个——”他盯着范妮，然后装出沮丧的样子。

“Why, what’s the matter with your face, Aunt Fanny?

“怎么了，范妮阿姨，你的脸怎么了？

It seems agitated!”

看起来很激动！”

“Agitated!” Fanny said disdainfully, but her voice undeniably lacked steadiness.

“激动！”范妮不屑的说道，但她的声音却不可否认地不够坚定。

“Agitated!”

“激动！”

“Oh, come!” Mr. Minafer interposed.

“噢，来吧！”米纳弗先生插话道。

“Let’s have a little peace!”

“让我们安静一点吧！”

“I’m willing,” said George.

乔治说：“我愿意。”

“I don’t want to see poor Aunt Fanny all stirred up over a rumour I just this minute invented myself.

“我不想看到可怜的范妮阿姨因为我刚刚编造的谣言而激动不已。

She’s so excitable—about certain subjects—it’s hard to control her.” He turned to his mother.

她对某些话题非常兴奋，很难控制她。”他转向他的母亲。

“What’s the matter with grandfather?”

“爷爷怎么了？”

“Didn’t you see him this morning?” Isabel asked.

“今天早上你没看到他吗？”伊莎贝尔问道。

“Yes.

是的。

He was glad to see me, and all that, but he seemed pretty fidgety.

他很高兴见到我，等等，但他看起来很烦躁。

Has he been having trouble with his heart again?”

他是不是心脏又出问题了？”

“Not lately.

“最近没有。

No.”

不。”

“Well, he’s not himself.

“好吧，他不是他自己。

I tried to talk to him about the estate; it’s disgraceful—it really is—the way things are looking.

我试图和他谈论遗产；事情看起来是可耻的——确实如此。

He wouldn’t listen, and he seemed upset.

他不听，而且看上去很沮丧。

What’s he upset over?”

他在生气什么？”

Isabel looked serious; however, it was her husband who suggested gloomily, “I suppose the Major’s bothered about this Sydney and Amelia business, most likely.”

伊莎贝尔看上去很严肃。然而，倒是她丈夫郁闷地说道：“我想少校很可能对悉尼和阿米莉亚的事情感到烦恼。”

“What Sydney and Amelia business?” George asked.

“悉尼和阿米莉亚有什么事吗？”乔治问道。

“Your mother can tell you, if she wants to,” Minafer said.

“如果你妈妈愿意的话，她可以告诉你，”米纳弗说。

“It’s not my side of the family, so I keep off.”

“这不是我这边的家庭，所以我会避开。”

“It’s rather disagreeable for all of us, Georgie,” Isabel began.

“这对我们所有人来说都是相当不愉快的，乔吉，”伊莎贝尔开始说道。

“You see, your Uncle Sydney wanted a diplomatic position, and he thought brother George, being in Congress, could arrange it.

“你看，你的悉尼叔叔想要一个外交职位，他认为乔治兄弟在国会可以安排这个职位。

George did get him the offer of a South American ministry, but Sydney wanted a European ambassadorship, and he got quite indignant with poor George for thinking he’d take anything smaller—and he believes George didn’t work hard enough for him.

乔治确实给他提供了南美部委的职位，但悉尼想要担任欧洲大使，他对可怜的乔治感到非常愤怒，因为他认为乔治会做更小的事情，而且他认为乔治为他工作不够努力。

George had done his best, of course, and now he’s out of Congress, and won’t run again—so there’s Sydney’s idea of a big diplomatic position gone for good.

当然，乔治已经尽力了，现在他已经退出国会，不会再竞选了——所以悉尼关于担任重要外交职位的想法永远消失了。

Well, Sydney and your Aunt Amelia are terribly disappointed, and they say they’ve been thinking for years that this town isn’t really fit to live in—‘for a gentleman,’ Sydney says—and it is getting rather big and dirty.

好吧，西德尼和你的阿米莉亚阿姨非常失望，他们说多年来他们一直认为这个小镇不太适合居住——“对于一位绅士来说，”西德尼说——而且它变得相当大和肮脏。

So they’ve sold their house and decided to go abroad to live permanently; there’s a villa near Florence they’ve often talked of buying.

于是他们卖掉了房子，决定出国永久居住；他们经常谈论购买佛罗伦萨附近的一栋别墅。

And they want father to let them have their share of the estate now, instead of waiting for him to leave it to them in his will.”

他们希望父亲现在就让他们拥有自己的那一份遗产，而不是等他在遗嘱中把它留给他们。”

“Well, I suppose that’s fair enough,” George said.

“嗯，我想这很公平，”乔治说。

“That is, in case he intended to leave them a certain amount in his will.”

“也就是说，万一他打算在遗嘱中给他们留下一定的数额。”

“Of course that’s understood, Georgie.

“当然可以理解，乔吉。

Father explained his will to us long ago; a third to them, and a third to brother George, and a third to us.”

父亲很早就向我们解释了他的遗愿；第三个给他们，第三个给乔治兄弟，第三个给我们。”

Her son made a simple calculation in his mind.

儿子在心里做了一个简单的计算。

Uncle George was a bachelor, and probably would never marry; Sydney and Amelia were childless.

乔治叔叔是个单身汉，可能永远不会结婚。悉尼和阿米莉亚没有孩子。

The Major’s only grandchild appeared to remain the eventual heir of the entire property, no matter if the Major did turn over to Sydney a third of it now.

少校唯一的孙子似乎仍然是整个财产的最终继承人，无论少校现在是否将其中三分之一移交给悉尼。

And George had a fragmentary vision of himself, in mourning, arriving to take possession of a historic Florentine villa—he saw himself walking up a cypress-bordered path, with ancient carven stone balustrades in the distance, and servants in mourning livery greeting the new signore.

乔治有一个片段的幻象，他在哀悼中到达了一座历史悠久的佛罗伦萨别墅——他看到自己走在一条柏树环绕的小路上，远处有古老的石雕栏杆，身穿丧服的仆人在迎接新先生。

“Well, I suppose it’s grandfather’s own affair.

“嗯，我想这是祖父自己的事。

He can do it or not, just as he likes.

他可以做也可以不做，随他喜欢。

I don’t see why he’d mind much.”

我不明白他为什么会这么介意。”

“He seemed rather confused and pained about it,” Isabel said.

“他似乎对此感到困惑和痛苦，”伊莎贝尔说。

“I think they oughtn’t to urge it.

“我认为他们不应该敦促这样做。

George says that the estate won’t stand taking out the third that Sydney wants, and that Sydney and Amelia are behaving like a couple of pigs.” She laughed, continuing, “Of course I don’t know whether they are or not: I never have understood any more about business myself than a little pig would!

乔治说，庄园无法忍受悉尼想要的第三个，而悉尼和阿米莉亚的行为就像一对猪。”她笑了，继续说道：“我当然不知道是不是，我自己对商业的理解从来不比小猪多！

But I’m on George’s side, whether he’s right or wrong; I always was from the time we were children: and Sydney and Amelia are hurt with me about it, I’m afraid.

但无论他是对还是错，我都站在乔治一边；从我们还是孩子的时候起，我就一直是这样的：恐怕悉尼和阿米莉亚都因为这件事而对我感到受伤。

They’ve stopped speaking to George entirely.

他们完全不再和乔治说话了。

Poor father.

可怜的父亲。

Family rows at his time of life.”

在他年轻的时候，家庭会发生争吵。”

George became thoughtful.

乔治陷入沉思。

If Sydney and Amelia were behaving like pigs, things might not be so simple as at first they seemed to be.

如果西德尼和阿米莉亚表现得像猪一样，事情可能就不像一开始看起来那么简单了。

Uncle Sydney and Aunt Amelia might live an awful long while, he thought; and besides, people didn’t always leave their fortunes to relatives.

他想，西德尼叔叔和阿米莉亚婶婶可能会活得很长。此外，人们并不总是把财产留给亲戚。

Sydney might die first, leaving everything to his widow, and some curly-haired Italian adventurer might get round her, over there in Florence; she might be fool enough to marry again—or even adopt somebody!

西德尼可能会先死，把一切留给他的遗孀，而某个卷发的意大利冒险家可能会在佛罗伦萨那边绕过她；她可能会傻到再婚——甚至收养某人！

He became more and more thoughtful, forgetting entirely a plan he had formed for the continued teasing of his Aunt Fanny; and, an hour after lunch, he strolled over to his grandfather’s, intending to apply for further information, as a party rightfully interested.

他变得越来越深思熟虑，完全忘记了他为继续戏弄范妮姨妈而制定的计划；午饭后一小时，他漫步到祖父家，打算作为有兴趣的一方申请进一步的信息。

He did not carry out this intention, however.

然而他并没有实现这个意图。

Going into the big house by a side entrance, he was informed that the Major was upstairs in his bedroom, that his sons Sydney and George were both with him, and that a serious argument was in progress.

从侧门走进大房子，他被告知少校在楼上他的卧室里，他的儿子西德尼和乔治都和他在一起，一场严重的争吵正在进行中。

“You kin stan’ right in de middle dat big, sta’y-way,” said Old Sam, the ancient negro, who was his informant, “an’ you kin heah all you a-mind to wivout goin’ on up no fudda.

“你就站在那条大路中间，”老山姆，那个古老的黑人，也是他的线人，说道，“你一定要避免胡言乱语。

Mist’ Sydney an’ Mist’ Jawge talkin’ louduh’n I evuh heah nobody ca’y on in nish heah house!

米斯特·悉尼和米斯特·贾格大声说话，我什至没有人在尼赫房子里说话！

Quollin’, honey, big quollin’!”

咕咕咕，亲爱的，大咕咕咕！”

“All right,” said George shortly.

“好吧，”乔治简短地说。

“You go on back to your own part of the house, and don’t make any talk.

“你回到房子里你自己的地方，不要说话。

Hear me?”

听我说吗？

“Yessuh, yessuh,” Sam chuckled, as he shuffled away.

“是的，是的，”Sam一边笑着走开。

“Plenty talkin’ wivout Sam!

“没有萨姆就已经说了很多了！

Yessuh!”

是的！”

George went to the foot of the great stairway.

乔治走到大楼梯脚下。

He could hear angry voices overhead—those of his two uncles—and a plaintive murmur, as if the Major tried to keep the peace.

他能听到头顶上愤怒的声音——他的两个叔叔的声音——以及哀伤的低语声，仿佛少校试图维持和平。

Such sounds were far from encouraging to callers, and George decided not to go upstairs until this interview was over.

这样的声音远不能让来电者感到鼓舞，乔治决定在这次采访结束之前不上楼。

His decision was the result of no timidity, nor of a too sensitive delicacy.

他的决定并不是因为胆怯，也不是因为过于敏感。

What he felt was, that if he interrupted the scene in his grandfather’s room, just at this time, one of the three gentlemen engaging in it might speak to him in a peremptory manner (in the heat of the moment) and George saw no reason for exposing his dignity to such mischances.

他的感觉是，如果他在此时打断祖父房间里的场景，参与其中的三位绅士中的一位可能会以专横的方式（一时冲动）对他说话，乔治认为没有理由让自己的尊严暴露在这种不幸中。

Therefore he turned from the stairway, and going quietly into the library, picked up a magazine—but he did not open it, for his attention was instantly arrested by his Aunt Amelia’s voice, speaking in the next room.

于是他从楼梯上转身，悄悄走进图书馆，拿起一本杂志——但他没有打开，因为他的注意力立刻被隔壁房间里阿米莉亚姨妈说话的声音吸引住了。

The door was open and George heard her distinctly.

门开着，乔治清楚地听到她说话。

“Isabel does?

“伊莎贝尔是吗？

Isabel!” she exclaimed, her tone high and shrewish.

伊莎贝尔！”她大声喊道，语气高亢而尖刻。

“You needn’t tell me anything about Isabel Minafer, I guess, my dear old Frank Bronson!

“我想，你不必告诉我任何关于伊莎贝尔·米纳弗的事情，我亲爱的老弗兰克·布朗森！

I know her a little better than you do, don’t you think?”

我比你更了解她，你不觉得吗？”

George heard the voice of Mr. Bronson replying—a voice familiar to him as that of his grandfather’s attorney-in-chief and chief intimate as well.

乔治听到布朗森先生回答的声音——他熟悉这个声音，就像他祖父的首席律师和首席密友的声音一样。

He was a contemporary of the Major’s, being over seventy, and they had been through three years of the War in the same regiment.

他和少校是同龄人，七十多岁了，他们在同一个团经历了三年的战争。

Amelia addressed him now, with an effect of angry mockery, as “my dear old Frank Bronson”; but that (without the mockery) was how the Amberson family almost always spoke of him: “dear old Frank Bronson.” He was a hale, thin old man, six feet three inches tall, and without a stoop.

阿米莉亚现在用一种愤怒的嘲讽的语气称呼他为“我亲爱的老弗兰克·布朗森”。但安伯森一家几乎总是这么称呼他（没有嘲笑）：“亲爱的老弗兰克·布朗森。”他是一位精神矍铄、瘦弱的老人，身高六英尺三英寸，没有驼背。

“I doubt your knowing Isabel,” he said stiffly.

“我怀疑你认识伊莎贝尔，”他生硬地说。

“You speak of her as you do because she sides with her brother George, instead of with you and Sydney.”

“你这样谈论她是因为她站在她哥哥乔治一边，而不是站在你和西德尼一边。”

“Pooh!” Aunt Amelia was evidently in a passion.

“呸！”阿米莉亚姨妈显然很热情。

“You know what’s been going on over there, well enough, Frank Bronson!”

“你知道那边发生了什么，足够了，弗兰克·布朗森！”

“I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”

“我根本不知道你在说什么。”

“Oh, you don’t?

“哦，你不知道吗？

You don’t know that Isabel takes George’s side simply because he’s Eugene Morgan’s best friend?”

你不知道伊莎贝尔站在乔治一边只是因为他是尤金·摩根最好的朋友吗？”

“It seems to me you’re talking pure nonsense,” said Bronson sharply.

“在我看来，你完全是在胡说八道，”布朗森尖锐地说。

“Not impure nonsense, I hope!”

“我希望这不是不纯粹的废话！”

Amelia became shrill.

阿米莉亚变得尖锐起来。

“I thought you were a man of the world: don’t tell me you’re blind!

“我以为你是个懂事的人，别告诉我你是瞎子！

For nearly two years Isabel’s been pretending to chaperone Fanny Minafer with Eugene, and all the time she’s been dragging that poor fool Fanny around to chaperone her and Eugene!

近两年来，伊莎贝尔一直假装陪伴范妮·米纳弗和尤金，而她一直拖着那个可怜的傻瓜范妮到处陪伴她和尤金！

Under the circumstances, she knows people will get to thinking Fanny’s a pretty slim kind of chaperone, and Isabel wants to please George because she thinks there’ll be less talk if she can keep her own brother around, seeming to approve.

在这种情况下，她知道人们会认为范妮是一个相当苗条的监护人，而伊莎贝尔想要取悦乔治，因为她认为如果她能把自己的兄弟留在身边，那么谈话就会减少，似乎很赞同。

‘Talk!’ She’d better look out!

“说话！”她最好小心点！

The whole town will be talking, the first thing she knows!

整个镇子都会议论，这是她知道的第一件事！

She—”

她——”

Amelia stopped, and stared at the doorway in a panic, for her nephew stood there.

阿米莉亚停了下来，惊慌地盯着门口，因为她的侄子就站在那里。

She kept her eyes upon his white face for a few strained moments, then, regaining her nerve, looked away and shrugged her shoulders.

她紧张地盯着他苍白的脸看了一会儿，然后恢复了镇定，移开视线，耸了耸肩。

“You weren’t intended to hear what I’ve been saying, George,” she said quietly.

“乔治，你无意听我说的话，”她轻声说道。

“But since you seem to—”

“但是既然你看起来——”

“Yes, I did.”

“是的，我做到了。”

“So!” She shrugged her shoulders again.

“所以！”她再次耸耸肩。

“After all, I don’t know but it’s just as well, in the long run.”

“毕竟，我不知道，但从长远来看，这样也好。”

He walked up to where she sat.

他走到她坐的地方。

“You—you—” he said thickly.

“你——你——”他粗声粗气地说。

“It seems—it seems to me you’re—you’re pretty common!”

“看来——在我看来你——你很普通！”

Amelia tried to give the impression of an unconcerned person laughing with complete indifference, but the sounds she produced were disjointed and uneasy.

阿米莉亚试图给人一种毫不关心的人的印象，笑起来完全漠不关心，但她发出的声音却杂乱而不安。

She fanned herself, looking out of the open window near her.

她一边扇着扇子，一边看着附近开着的窗户。

“Of course, if you want to make more trouble in the family than we’ve already got, George, with your eavesdropping, you can go and repeat—”

“当然，如果你想在家里制造比我们现在更多的麻烦，乔治，你可以去偷听，重复一遍——”

Old Bronson had risen from his chair in great distress.

老布朗森痛苦地从椅子上站起来。

“Your aunt was talking nonsense because she’s piqued over a business matter, George,” he said.

“乔治，你阿姨之所以胡言乱语，是因为她因为生意上的事情而生气，”他说。

“She doesn’t mean what she said, and neither she nor any one else gives the slightest credit to such foolishness—no one in the world!”

“她所说的并不是真心话，无论是她还是其他人，都没有对这种愚蠢行为给予丝毫的信任——世界上没有人！”

George gulped, and wet lines shone suddenly along his lower eyelids.

乔治咽了口口水，下眼睑突然闪现出湿漉漉的皱纹。

“They—they’d better not!” he said, then stalked out of the room, and out of the house.

“他们——他们最好不要！”他说，然后大步走出房间，走出房子。

He stamped fiercely across the stone slabs of the front porch, descended the steps, and halted abruptly, blinking in the strong sunshine.

他猛地踩过前廊的石板，走下台阶，突然停了下来，在强烈的阳光下眨着眼睛。

In front of his own gate, beyond the Major’s broad lawn, his mother was just getting into her victoria, where sat already his Aunt Fanny and Lucy Morgan.

在他自己的大门前，在少校宽阔的草坪之外，他的母亲刚刚进入她的维多利亚，那里已经坐着他的范妮姨妈和露西摩根。

It was a summer fashion-picture: the three ladies charmingly dressed, delicate parasols aloft; the lines of the victoria graceful as those of a violin; the trim pair of bays in glistening harness picked out with silver, and the serious black driver whom Isabel, being an Amberson, dared even in that town to put into a black livery coat, boots, white breeches, and cockaded hat.

这是一幅夏日时尚画卷：三位女士衣着迷人，高高撑着精致的阳伞；维多利亚的线条像小提琴一样优雅；一对穿着闪闪发光的马具的整齐的海湾被银饰所点缀，还有严肃的黑人司机，伊莎贝尔，作为安伯森家族的一员，甚至在那个镇上也敢给他穿上黑色制服外套，靴子，白色马裤，戴着有徽章的帽子。

They jingled smartly away, and, seeing George standing on the Major’s lawn, Lucy waved, and Isabel threw him a kiss.

它们叮叮当当地响了起来，看到乔治站在少校的草坪上，露西挥了挥手，伊莎贝尔给了他一个吻。

But George shuddered, pretending not to see them, and stooped as if searching for something lost in the grass, protracting that posture until the victoria was out of hearing.

但乔治浑身发抖，假装没有看到他们，弯下腰，好像在草丛中寻找丢失的东西，一直保持这个姿势，直到维多利亚的声音消失为止。

And ten minutes later, George Amberson, somewhat in the semblance of an angry person plunging out of the Mansion, found a pale nephew waiting to accost him.

十分钟后，乔治·安伯森就像一个愤怒的人冲出官邸，发现一个脸色苍白的侄子正等着和他搭话。

“I haven’t time to talk, Georgie.”

“我没时间说话，乔吉。”

“Yes, you have.

“是的，你有。

You’d better!”

你最好！”

“What’s the matter, then?”

“那是怎么回事？”

His namesake drew him away from the vicinity of the house.

他的同名者把他从房子附近拉开。

“I want to tell you something I just heard Aunt Amelia say, in there.”

“我想告诉你一些我刚刚听到阿米莉亚阿姨在那里说的话。”

“I don’t want to hear it,” said Amberson.

“我不想听，”安伯森说。

“I’ve been hearing entirely too much of what ‘Aunt Amelia’ says, lately.”

“最近我听太多了‘阿米莉亚阿姨’的话。”

“She says my mother’s on your side about this division of the property because you’re Eugene Morgan’s best friend.”

“她说我母亲在财产分割问题上站在你一边，因为你是尤金·摩根最好的朋友。”

“What in the name of heaven has that got to do with your mother’s being on my side?”

“天哪，这和你母亲站在我这边有什么关系？”

“She said—” George paused to swallow.

“她说——”乔治停下来吞咽口水。

“She said—” He faltered.

“她说——”他支吾着。

“You look sick,” said his uncle; and laughed shortly.

“你看起来病了，”他叔叔说。然后笑了一声。

“If it’s because of anything Amelia’s been saying, I don’t blame you!

“如果是因为阿米莉亚所说的话，我不会怪你！

What else did she say?”

她还说了什么？”

George swallowed again, as with nausea, but under his uncle’s encouragement he was able to be explicit.

乔治又吞了口口水，因为感到恶心，但在叔叔的鼓励下，他终于能够直言不讳了。

“She said my mother wanted you to be friendly to her about Eugene Morgan.

“她说我母亲希望你在尤金·摩根的事上对她友好一些。

She said my mother had been using Aunt Fanny as a chaperone.”

她说我母亲一直让范妮阿姨充当监护人。”

Amberson emitted a laugh of disgust.

安伯森发出厌恶的笑声。

“It’s wonderful what tommy-rot a woman in a state of spite can think of!

“一个处于怨恨状态的女人能想到什么，真是太棒了！

I suppose you don’t doubt that Amelia Amberson created this specimen of tommy-rot herself?”

我想你不会怀疑阿米莉亚·安伯森自己创造了这个汤米腐烂标本吧？”

“I know she did.”

“我知道她做到了。”

“Then what’s the matter?”

“那是怎么回事？”

“She said—” George faltered again.

“她说——”乔治再次支支吾吾。

“She said—she implied people were—were talking about it.”

“她说——她暗示人们正在谈论这件事。”

“Of all the damn nonsense!” his uncle exclaimed.

“那些该死的废话！”他叔叔惊呼道。

George looked at him haggardly.

乔治憔悴地看着他。

“You’re sure they’re not?”

“你确定他们不是？”

“Rubbish!

“垃圾！

Your mother’s on my side about this division because she knows Sydney’s a pig and always has been a pig, and so has his spiteful wife.

在这个问题上，你母亲站在我这边，因为她知道西德尼是头猪，而且一直都是头猪，他那恶毒的妻子也是如此。

I’m trying to keep them from getting the better of your mother as well as from getting the better of me, don’t you suppose?

我正在努力阻止他们战胜你母亲，也阻止他们战胜我，你不觉得吗？

Well, they’re in a rage because Sydney always could do what he liked with father unless your mother interfered, and they know I got Isabel to ask him not to do what they wanted.

好吧，他们很愤怒，因为西德尼总是可以对父亲做他喜欢做的事，除非你母亲干涉，而且他们知道我让伊莎贝尔要求他不要做他们想做的事。

They’re keeping up the fight and they’re sore—and Amelia’s a woman who always says any damn thing that comes into her head!