狄更斯双语小说:《董贝父子》第36章Part3

'Exactly,' said Cousin Feenix, bending forward to see the mild man, and smile encouragement at him down the table. 'That was Jack. Joe wore - '
'Tops!' cried the mild man, rising in public estimation every Instant.
'Of course,' said Cousin Feenix, 'you were intimate with em?'
'I knew them both,' said the mild man. With whom Mr Dombey immediately took wine.
'Devilish good fellow, Jack!' said Cousin Feenix, again bending forward, and smiling.
'Excellent,' returned the mild man, becoming bold on his success. 'One of the best fellows I ever knew.'
'No doubt you have heard the story?' said Cousin Feenix.
'I shall know,' replied the bold mild man, 'when I have heard your Ludship tell it.' With that, he leaned back in his chair and smiled at the ceiling, as knowing it by heart, and being already tickled.
'In point of fact, it's nothing of a story in itself,' said Cousin Feenix, addressing the table with a smile, and a gay shake of his head, 'and not worth a word of preface. But it's illustrative of the neatness of Jack's humour. The fact is, that Jack was invited down to a marriage - which I think took place in Berkshire?'
'Shropshire,' said the bold mild man, finding himself appealed to.
'Was it? Well! In point of fact it might have been in any shire,' said Cousin Feenix. 'So my friend being invited down to this marriage in Anyshire,' with a pleasant sense of the readiness of this joke, 'goes. Just as some of us, having had the honour of being invited to the marriage of my lovely and accomplished relative with my friend Dombey, didn't require to be asked twice, and were devilish glad to be present on so interesting an occasion. - Goes - Jack goes. Now, this marriage was, in point of fact, the marriage of an uncommonly fine girl with a man for whom she didn't care a button, but whom she accepted on account of his property, which was immense. When Jack returned to town, after the nuptials, a man he knew, meeting him in the lobby of the House of Commons, says, "Well, Jack, how are the ill-matched couple?" "Ill-matched," says Jack "Not at all. It's a perfectly and equal transaction. She is regularly bought, and you may take your oath he is as regularly sold!"'
In his full enjoyment of this culminating point of his story, the shudder, which had gone all round the table like an electric spark, struck Cousin Feenix, and he stopped. Not a smile occasioned by the only general topic of conversation broached that day, appeared on any face. A profound silence ensued; and the wretched mild man, who had been as innocent of any real foreknowledge of the story as the child unborn, had the exquisite misery of reading in every eye that he was regarded as the prime mover of the mischief.
Mr Dombey's face was not a changeful one, and being cast in its mould of state that day, showed little other apprehension of the story, if any, than that which he expressed when he said solemnly, amidst the silence, that it was 'Very good.' There was a rapid glance from Edith towards Florence, but otherwise she remained, externally, impassive and unconscious.
Through the various stages of rich meats and wines, continual gold and silver, dainties of earth, air, fire, and water, heaped-up fruits, and that unnecessary article in Mr Dombey's banquets - ice- the dinner slowly made its way: the later stages being achieved to the sonorous music of incessant double knocks, announcing the arrival of visitors, whose portion of the feast was limited to the smell thereof. When Mrs Dombey rose, it was a sight to see her lord, with stiff throat and erect head, hold the door open for the withdrawal of the ladies; and to see how she swept past him with his daughter on her arm.
Mr Dombey was a grave sight, behind the decanters, in a state of dignity; and the East India Director was a forlorn sight near the unoccupied end of the table, in a state of solitude; and the Major was a military sight, relating stories of the Duke of York to six of the seven mild men (the ambitious one was utterly quenched); and the Bank Director was a lowly sight, making a plan of his little attempt at a pinery, with dessert-knives, for a group of admirers; and Cousin Feenix was a thoughtful sight, as he smoothed his long wristbands and stealthily adjusted his wig. But all these sights were of short duration, being speedily broken up by coffee, and the desertion of the room.

“一点不错，”菲尼克斯表哥说道，一边向前探出身子去看看这位懦怯的人，对坐在桌子最下端的他笑嘻嘻地表示鼓励，”这是杰克。乔穿的是--”
“长筒靴！”那位懦怯的人喊道；他在众人心目中的地位每一秒钟都在提高。
“当然，”菲尼克斯表哥说道，”您跟他们很熟吧？”
“我认识他们两人，”那位懦怯的人说道。董贝先生立刻和他碰了杯。
“这杰克真是个非常好的人”，菲尼克斯表哥又笑嘻嘻地向前探出身子，说道。
“好极了，”那位懦怯的人回答道，他由于取得成功，因而胆子大起来了，”他是我所认识的最好的人当中的一个。”
“毫无疑问，您已经听到这个故事了？”菲尼克斯表哥问道。
“现在还不敢说，”这位胆子大起来的懦怯的人回答道，”听您阁下说了才知道。”他一边说，一边仰靠在椅背上，望着天花板微笑着，好像他熟记这个故事，早已被逗乐了。
“事实上，这件事本身根本算不了什么故事，”菲尼克斯表哥笑嘻嘻地对着全桌的客人，快活地摇摇头，说道，”用不着一句开场白。但是这说明了杰克灵巧的机智。事情是这样的：杰克有一次被邀请去参加一个婚礼--这个婚礼我想是在巴克郡举行的吧？”
“什罗郡，”那位胆子大起来的懦怯的人看到大家都在等待着他，就这样回答道。
“是那里吗？事实上也可能在任何一个郡举行，”菲尼克斯表哥说道，”我的朋友就这样被邀请到任何郡去参加这次婚礼，”他对这笑话立刻会引起哄堂大笑感到很高兴，”他去了。正像我们当中有些人荣幸地被邀请来参加我可爱的、多才多艺的亲戚跟我的朋友董贝的婚礼一样，不需要别人邀请两次，去出席这么有趣的场面真是了不得的高兴。所以，他--杰克就去了。可是这个婚姻事实上是一个异常漂亮的女孩子跟一个她连一丁点儿爱情也没有的男人的婚姻，她是因为贪图他的财产才同意嫁给他的。当杰克参加婚礼之后回到城里的时候，一位跟他认识的人在下院的休息室里碰见他，问他‘唔，杰克，这错配了的两口子怎么样？’‘错配！’杰克回答道，‘根本不是什么错配。这完全是公平交易。她是正正规规地被买下来，而他，您也可以发誓说，是正正规规地被卖出去的！’”
可是当菲尼克斯表哥正满腔欢乐地到达他的故事的最高潮的时候，全桌人都像接触到电火花似地打了个冷战，这使他猛吃一惊，就停止了说话。这个成为这一天大家普遍参加的谈话的唯一话题在任何人的脸上也没有引起微笑。接着是一片鸦雀无声的沉默；那位不幸的懦怯的人事前对这故事就像对一个还没出世的孩子一样，一无所知，现在他从每只眼睛中都可以看到，他被大家看成是这次祸害的元凶，心中感到剧烈的痛苦。
董贝先生的脸孔并不是容易变化的脸孔，这天他还是和平日一样，摆出一副一本正经的态度；他在静默中只是郑重地说了一声”很好”，此外，对这个故事就没有任何其他表示理解的反应。伊迪丝朝弗洛伦斯迅速地看了一眼，可是除此之外她在表面上还继续保持着冷冷淡淡、漠不关心的态度。
宴会通过了各个不同的阶段：丰富的肉，芳醇的酒，连接不断的金银器皿，代表泥土、空气、火、水的各种美味佳肴，成堆的水果，还有董贝先生的宴会上完全不需要的东西--冰，这顿晚餐渐渐地接近结束；在后几个阶段中，不断听到两下敲门的响亮，通报客人来到；这些晚到的客人们只能闻闻宴会的香味而已。当董贝夫人站起来的时候，她的丈夫脖子坚挺，脑袋直竖，手按着打开的门，让夫人们一一走出去，这一情景是很值得看一看的；董贝夫人胳膊挽着他的女儿，从他身旁匆匆走过的情景也是值得看一看的。
董贝先生威风凛凛地坐在细颈圆酒瓶后面时，是一幅庄严的景象；东印度公司的董事孤孤单单地坐在桌子空荡荡的另一头的近旁时，是一幅凄凉的景象；少校向七位懦怯的人当中的六位（爱虚荣的那一位已经完全陷于绝境了）讲约克郡公爵的轶事时，是一幅英武的景象；银行董事用吃点心的小刀向一群崇拜者描画他有小菠萝温室的平面图时，是一幅谦逊的景象；菲尼克斯表哥抚平长袖口，偷偷地整整假发时，是一幅沉思的景象。可是所有这些景象持续的时间都很短，因为很快就喝咖啡，而且大家不久都离开了餐厅。