狄更斯双语小说:《董贝父子》第29章Part 3

Mrs Chick coughed as before, and drew lines on the carpet with the ivory end of her parasol. Miss Tox, who had experience of her fair friend, and knew that under the pressure of any slight fatigue or vexation she was prone to a discursive kind of irritability, availed herself of the pause, to change the subject.
'Pardon me, my dear Louisa,' said Miss Tox, 'but have I caught sight of the manly form of Mr Chick in the carriage?'
'He is there,' said Mrs Chick, 'but pray leave him there. He has his newspaper, and would be quite contented for the next two hours. Go on with your flowers, Lucretia, and allow me to sit here and rest.''My Louisa knows,' observed Miss Tox, 'that between friends like ourselves, any approach to ceremony would be out of the question. Therefore - ' Therefore Miss Tox finished the sentence, not in words but action; and putting on her gloves again, which she had taken off, and arming herself once more with her scissors, began to snip and clip among the leaves with microscopic industry.
'Florence has returned home also,' said Mrs Chick, after sitting silent for some time, with her head on one side, and her parasol sketching on the floor; 'and really Florence is a great deal too old now, to continue to lead that solitary life to which she has been accustomed. Of course she is. There can be no doubt about it. I should have very little respect, indeed, for anybody who could advocate a different opinion. Whatever my wishes might be, I could not respect them. We cannot command our feelings to such an extent as that.'
Miss Tox assented, without being particular as to the intelligibility of the proposition.
'If she's a strange girl,' said Mrs Chick, 'and if my brother Paul cannot feel perfectly comfortable in her society, after all the sad things that have happened, and all the terrible disappointments that have been undergone, then, what is the reply? That he must make an effort. That he is bound to make an effort. We have always been a family remarkable for effort. Paul is at the head of the family; almost the only representative of it left - for what am I - I am of no consequence - '
'My dearest love,' remonstrated Miss Tox.
Mrs Chick dried her eyes, which were, for the moment, overflowing; and proceeded:
'And consequently he is more than ever bound to make an effort. And though his having done so, comes upon me with a sort of shock - for mine is a very weak and foolish nature; which is anything but a blessing I am sure; I often wish my heart was a marble slab, or a paving-stone -
'My sweet Louisa,' remonstrated Miss Tox again.
'Still, it is a triumph to me to know that he is so true to himself, and to his name of Dombey; although, of course, I always knew he would be. I only hope,' said Mrs Chick, after a pause, 'that she may be worthy of the name too.
Miss Tox filled a little green watering-pot from a jug, and happening to look up when she had done so, was so surprised by the amount of expression Mrs Chick had conveyed into her face, and was bestowing upon her, that she put the little watering-pot on the table for the present, and sat down near it.
'My dear Louisa,' said Miss Tox, 'will it be the least satisfaction to you, if I venture to observe in reference to that remark, that I, as a humble individual, think your sweet niece in every way most promising?~ 'What do you mean, Lucretia?' returned Mrs Chick, with increased stateliness of manner. 'To what remark of mine, my dear, do you refer?'
'Her being worthy of her name, my love,' replied Miss Tox.

奇克夫人像先前一样咳嗽，并用她的阳伞的象牙顶在地毯上画着线条。托克斯小姐熟悉她这位女朋友的脾气，知道她稍有一点疲劳或烦恼，就容易急躁地东拉西扯，所以趁着停息的时间，改变了话题。
“请原谅我，我亲爱的路易莎，”托克斯小姐说，”不过我好像在马车里看到了奇克先生雄伟的身姿了？”
“他是在那里，”奇克夫人说道，”不过让他待在那里吧。他有报纸，他将会十分甘心乐意地在那里消磨掉两小时。继续弄你的花吧，卢克丽霞，请允许我坐在这里休息一下。””我的路易莎知道，”托克斯小姐说道，”在我们这样的朋友之间，根本不必讲什么礼节。因此--”因此托克斯小姐就用行动，而不是用言语来结束她的这句话；她又戴上原先脱下的手套，重新拿起剪刀，开始又细心又勤奋地修剪叶子。
“弗洛伦斯也回家了，”奇克夫人头歪向一边，用阳伞顶在地板上画着图画，这样默默坐了一会儿之后说道，”说实在的，弗洛伦斯现在年纪太大了，不能再让她过她过去习惯了的孤独的生活了。她当然是太大了。这是毫无疑问的。说真的，谁要是提出不同的看法的话，那么我们就不会再尊敬他们。不管我的愿望怎么样，我也不能再尊敬他们了。我们不能把我们的感情支配到那样的地步。”
托克斯小姐虽然并不十分理解这些话的含意，但她表示同意。
“如果她是个奇怪的女孩子，”奇克夫人说道，”如果我的哥哥保罗在经历了所有那些悲伤的事情、遭受了所有那些可怕的挫折之后，觉得跟她在一起不很自在的话，那么该怎么回答这个问题呢？回答是：他必须作出努力，他应当作出努力。我们这个家族的一个显著的特点就是能作出努力。保罗是我们一家之首，几乎是我们这个家族留下的唯一代表--因为我算得了什么？--我是个无足轻重的人。”
“我亲爱的，”托克斯小姐表示异议地说道。
奇克夫人抹干了一时间汪汪涌出的眼泪，继续说道：
“所以，他比任何时候都应当作出努力。虽然他所作出的努力使我感到了一种震惊--因为我的性格是很软弱和很可笑的，这无论如何也不是一件值得高兴的事，我时常希望我的心是块大理石板，或是块铺路的石头--”
“我亲爱的路易莎，”托克斯小姐又表示异议地说道。
“可是我还是十分高兴地知道他不愧为他本人，也不愧姓董贝这个姓；虽然，这是当然的，我过去也总知道，他将会这样的！我仅仅希望，”奇克夫人停了一下之后说道，”她也配姓那个姓。”
托克斯小姐从水罐中给一个绿色的小喷水壶中灌满了水，当她灌完之后抬起眼睛的时候，她十分吃惊地看到奇克夫人用那么意味深长的神色看着她的脸孔，因此她就把小喷水壶暂时放在桌子上，在桌旁坐下。
“我亲爱的路易莎，”托克斯小说道，”如果我听了您的那句话，冒昧地回答说，我这个卑贱的人认为您可爱的侄女在各方面都是个极有希望的孩子的话，那么也许你会很不高兴吧？”“您是什么意思，卢克丽霞？”奇克夫人用更加庄重的态度回答道，”您是指我的哪句话，我亲爱的？”
“她配姓那个姓，我亲爱的，”托克斯小姐回答道。