狄更斯双语小说:《董贝父子》第33章Part 2

With a passing gesture of his hand at the picture - what! a menace? No; yet something like it. A wave as of triumph? No; yet more like that. An insolent salute wafted from his lips? No; yet like that too - he resumes his breakfast, and calls to the chafing and imprisoned bird, who coming down into a pendant gilded hoop within the cage, like a great wedding-ring, swings in it, for his delight.
The second home is on the other side of London, near to where the busy great north road of bygone days is silent and almost deserted, except by wayfarers who toil along on foot. It is a poor small house, barely and sparely furnished, but very clean; and there is even an attempt to decorate it, shown in the homely flowers trained about the porch and in the narrow garden. The neighbourhood in which it stands has as little of the country to recommend'it, as it has of the town. It is neither of the town nor country. The former, like the giant in his travelling boots, has made a stride and passed it, and has set his brick-and-mortar heel a long way in advance; but the intermediate space between the giant's feet, as yet, is only blighted country, and not town; and, here, among a few tall chimneys belching smoke all day and night, and among the brick-fields and the lanes where turf is cut, and where the fences tumble down, and where the dusty nettles grow, and where a scrap or two of hedge may yet be seen, and where the bird-catcher still comes occasionally, though he swears every time to come no more - this second home is to be found.'
She who inhabits it, is she who left the first in her devotion to an outcast brother. She withdrew from that home its redeeming spirit, and from its master's breast his solitary angel: but though his liking for her is gone, after this ungrateful slight as he considers it; and though he abandons her altogether in return, an old idea of her is not quite forgotten even by him. Let her flower-garden, in which he never sets his foot, but which is yet maintained, among all his costly alterations, as if she had quitted it but yesterday, bear witness!
Harriet Carker has changed since then, and on her beauty there has fallen a heavier shade than Time of his unassisted self can cast, all-potent as he is - the shadow of anxiety and sorrow, and the daily struggle of a poor existence. But it is beauty still; and still a gentle, quiet, and retiring beauty that must be sought out, for it cannot vaunt itself; if it could, it would be what it is, no more.
Yes. This slight, small, patient figure, neatly dressed in homely stuffs, and indicating nothing but the dull, household virtues, that have so little in common with the received idea of heroism and greatness, unless, indeed, any ray of them should shine through the lives of the great ones of the earth, when it becomes a constellation and is tracked in Heaven straightway - this slight, small, patient figure, leaning on the man still young but worn and grey, is she, his sister, who, of all the world, went over to him in his shame and put her hand in his, and with a sweet composure and determination, led him hopefully upon his barren way.
'It is early, John,' she said. 'Why do you go so early?'
'Not many minutes earlier than usual, Harriet. If I have the time to spare, I should like, I think - it's a fancy - to walk once by the house where I took leave of him.'
'I wish I had ever seen or known him, John.'

他向画像挥了挥手--这是什么意思！是威吓吗？不是，可是也有些像威吓。是扬扬得意的流露吗？不是，可是很有些像扬扬得意。是从他嘴唇上吹送出去的侮辱性的飞吻吗？不是，可是也像是飞吻。--他又重新吃早饭，并招呼关在笼子中的生气的鸟儿；有一个像很大的结婚戒指一样的镀金的圆环悬垂在笼子中，那鸟儿往下走到圆环中，前后摇荡，给他开心取乐。
第二个家在伦敦的另一边，离北边的大公路不远；在往昔的日子里，这条大路交通繁忙，如今却是静寂无声；除了步行的旅客还沿着它辛苦地跋涉外，它几乎已被人们遗弃了。这是一座贫穷的小房屋，家具简陋、稀少，但却很干净；从裁培在门廊旁边和狭窄的庭园中的普通花卉来看，房屋的主人甚至还想把它装饰一下。它所坐落的地方既没有乡村的景色，也没有城市的风光。它既不是城市，又不是乡村。城市就像是个穿着旅行靴的巨人，大步跨过它，在远远的前方落下了他的由砖头和灰泥做成的靴底；可是在巨人两脚之间的地方，现在仍然是光景萧条的乡村。这里有几座日夜冒着黑烟的烟囱，有几个砖厂，还有一些小路，小路上青草已经被割去了，篱笆已经倒塌了，但生长着灰尘覆盖的荨麻，还可以看到一两片树篱；捉鸟的人仍偶尔前来光顾，但每次都发誓不再回来了；第二个家的住宅就坐落在这样的环境之中。
住在这个住宅中的她，就是由于热爱一个被遗弃的弟弟，才离开第一个家的住宅的。她从那座住宅中带走了赎罪的精神，从住宅主人的心胸中带走了他唯一的守护天使。虽然在这次在他看来是忘恩负义的、侮辱性的行为之后，他对她已不再喜爱；虽然他为了报复，已将她抛弃；可是甚至在他的心中也还没有完全遗忘对她的往日的记忆。让她在他门前留下的花园来证明吧！虽然他的脚步从来没有走进去过，可是他尽管花了很多钱来改建他的住宅，这个花园却依旧保留下来，就仿佛她昨天才离开似的。
哈里特?卡克从那时以来，容貌已经改变了；时间老人已经在她美丽的姿容上投下了比他在没有得到外界帮助的情况下独自所能投下的更为沉重的阴影--这是忧虑、悲伤和每天为可怜的生活挣扎的阴影。可是她的姿容仍然是美丽的，仍然是温柔的、文静的、谦逊的美；它是必须寻找才能发现的，因为它不会炫耀自己；如果它会的话，那么它就不会像现在这样了。
是的，这个苗条、矮小、耐性的人儿，穿着普通布料做成的洁净的衣服；在她身上所能看到的仅仅是平淡无奇的家常美德，并没有别的；这种美德与公认的英雄与伟大气概很少有共同之处，除非当这种美德之光成为星座，可以从天上直接找到，那时候这种美德的光线就会照进这个世界上的伟大人物的生活之中。--这位苗条的、矮小的、耐性的人儿靠在一位仍然年轻，但却疲乏无力、头发斑白的男子身上。她就是他的姐姐。她在他蒙受耻辱的时候，独自来到他身边，把她的手搁到他的手中，亲切地、沉着地怀着决心，满怀希望地引导他走上他的荒芜的道路。
“现在还早呢，约翰，”她说道，”为什么你这么早就走了？”
“比平时只早几分钟，哈里特。如果我能抽出时间的话，我想，我就爱从我跟他告别的那座房屋旁边经过，这是个怪癖。”
“我要是过去看见过他或认识他就好了，约翰。”