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书虫四级《克兰福德》:3.很久以前的一段恋情

所属教程:书虫4级 克兰福德

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2019年12月04日

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3.A love-affair of long ago

3.很久以前的一段恋情

After Miss Jenkyns's death, I did not expect to go to Cranford again. It was pleasant, therefore, to receive a letter from Miss Pole, inviting me to stay, and then a few days later a letter from Miss Matty, also inviting me. I promised to go to Miss Matty as soon as I had ended my visit to Miss Pole; and I went to see her the day after my arrival in Cranford. Miss Matty began to cry as soon as she saw me.

詹金斯小姐过世后,我没有料到会再去克兰福德。因此,我很高兴收到波尔小姐的信,邀请我去小住一段时间,几天之后又收到一封马蒂小姐的信,也向我发出了邀请。我答应看过波尔小姐后就去马蒂小姐那里;所以抵达克兰福德的第二天,我就去见她了。马蒂小姐一见到我就哭了起来。

I took her hand, feeling very sorry for her, all alone in the world without her sister. 'Dear Miss Matty!' said I.

我拉着她的手,真为她感到难过,失去了姐姐,她在这世上无依无靠。“亲爱的马蒂小姐!”我说。

My dear, I'd rather you didn't call me Matty. She didn't like it. Please, my love, will you call me Matilda?'

“亲爱的,还是别叫我马蒂了,她不喜欢。求你了,亲爱的,叫我马蒂尔达好吗?”

I promised—and I did try. We all tried, but with so little success that in the end we called her 'Miss Matty' again.

我答应了——而且还试着那么称呼她。我们都试过,但没什么用,最后我们又都叫她“马蒂小姐”了。

My visit to Miss Pole was very quiet. The Honourable Mrs Jamieson was too fat and lazy to give many parties and, without Miss Jenkyns to lead them, the other ladies did not quite know what to do. So 1 sewed my father's shirts, while Miss Pole did her knitting and told me stories about Cranford. One of her stories was about a love-affair she had suspected many years before.

我对波尔小姐的拜访平静无事。尊敬的贾米森夫人太胖了,也懒得举行聚会,而且没有詹金斯小姐挑头,其他女士也不知道该做什么。所以我就缝父亲的衬衣,波尔小姐则一边织毛线一边给我讲克兰福德的事情。其中一件事是很多年前她就觉察到的一段恋情。

After a week, I moved to Miss Matilda's house. How anxious she was about everything! 'Is your room all right, dear?' she said worriedly as I unpacked. 'The fire's not very bright. My sister used to arrange things to well. She could train a servant in a week, but Fanny's been with me for four months...'

一周之后,我搬到了马蒂尔达小姐家。她对一切都是那么焦虑不安!“你的房间还行吧,亲爱的?”我打开行李的时候她担心地问道,“火不太旺。我姐姐以前总是把一切都安排得井井有条。她可以在一周内就调教出一个仆人,可是范妮和我在一起已经有四个月了……”

Maid-servants were always a problem to the ladies of Cranford, and specially to poor Miss Matilda. There were not many gentlemen in the town, as I have said, but the number of handsome young working men was alarming. Sometimes they had to call at the house. What would happen if the maid fell in love with one of them? Pretty Fanny was not allowed to have any 'followers', but her mistress suspected that she had very many—and I myself once saw something strangely like a young man hiding behind the kitchen clock.

女仆们总是克兰福德女士们的一块心病,对于可怜的马蒂尔达小姐来说尤其如此。我已经说过,镇上没有多少男士,可是相貌英俊的青年工人的数量却多得惊人。有时候他们要到家中来访。要是女仆爱上了他们中的一个,那该怎么办?漂亮的范妮不许有任何“追求者”,不过她的女主人怀疑她有很多——我本人有一次奇怪地发现厨房的大钟后面藏着什么东西,好像是个年轻人。

However, during my visit Fanny had to leave; and I agreed to stay and help Miss Matilda with the new maid. Martha was a rough, honest-looking girl from a farm. I liked her, and I promised to teach her the rules of the house. These rules were, of course, Miss Jenkyns's rules. Miss Matilda had whispered against many of them during her sister's life, but now they must stay. About that, she was certain. About everything else, she was anxious and undecided.

然而,我造访的时候,范妮有事必须离开,所以我同意留下来帮马蒂尔达小姐训练新来的女仆。马莎是农场来的女孩儿,举止粗鲁,长相忠厚。我喜欢她,并且答应教她屋里的规矩。这些规矩,当然,是詹金斯小姐的规矩。马蒂尔达小姐在她姐姐活着的时候曾对其中的许多规矩颇有怨言,而现在这些规矩却必须保留。对此,她的态度明确。而对其他的事情,她却忧心忡忡,毫无主见。

And now I come to the love-affair. It seems that Miss Pole had a cousin who, long ago, had asked Miss Matilda to marry him. His name was Thomas Holbrook and he lived a few miles from Cranford on his own estate, called Woodley. He was a real country-man, very open and sincere, Miss Pole told me. 'He reads aloud,' she added, 'more beautifully than anyone I have ever heard, except Mr Jenkyns, the late rector.'

现在我要讲讲那段恋情了。似乎波尔小姐有个表兄在很久以前曾经向马蒂尔达小姐求过婚。他名叫托马斯·霍尔布鲁克,住在距克兰福德几英里远的自家庄园里,那庄园叫作伍德利。他是一个真正的乡下人,非常开朗真诚,波尔小姐这么告诉我的。“他爱大声朗诵,”她又加上一句,“除了已故的教区长詹金斯先生,他比我听到过的任何人朗诵得都好。”

Why didn't Miss Matilda marry him?' I asked.

“马蒂尔达小姐为什么没嫁给他?”我问道。

Perhaps the rector and Miss Jenkyns didn't think cousin Thomas was enough of a gentleman for her. You know the Jenkynses are related in some way to Sir Peter Arley. Miss Jenkyns was very proud of that.'

“也许教区长和詹金斯小姐觉得托马斯表兄还不够绅士,配不上她。你知道詹金斯家和彼得·阿莱爵士有些亲戚关系,詹金斯小姐很为此感到自豪。”

Poor Miss Matty! Has she ever seen Mr Holbrook since?'

“可怜的马蒂小姐!那以后她见过霍尔布鲁克先生吗?”

I don't think she has. He stopped coming into Cranford after she refused him.'

“我想没有吧。她拒绝了他之后,他就不再到克兰福德来了。”

And how old is he now?'

“现在他多大年纪了?”

About seventy, my dear,' said Miss Pole.

“大约70岁,亲爱的。”波尔小姐说。

Soon after this, strangely enough, I saw Mr Holbrook. Miss Matilda and I were looking at some coloured silks that had arrived at Mr Johnson's shop in High Street, when a tall, thin old man in country clothes hurried in. He waited impatiently, then told the shop-boy what he wanted. Miss Matilda heard his voice, and suddenly sat down. At once, I guessed who it was.

奇怪的是,不久之后我就见到了霍尔布鲁克先生。马蒂尔达小姐和我在海伊大街约翰逊先生的商店里看一些新到的彩色丝绸,就在那时,一个穿着乡下衣服,又高又瘦的老头儿急匆匆地走了进来。他等得不耐烦,就告诉店里的伙计他要的东西。马蒂尔达小姐听到他的声音,突然坐了下来。我立刻就猜出他是谁了。

Miss Jenkyns wants the black silk,' another shop-boy called across the shop.

“詹金斯小姐要黑色的丝绸。”另一个伙计朝店里喊道。

Mr Holbrook heard the name. 'Matty—Miss Matilda! I didn't recognize you! How are you?' He shook her hand warmly. 'I didn't recognize you!' he repeated.

霍尔布鲁克先生听到了这个名字。“马蒂——马蒂尔达小姐!我都没认出你来!你好吗?”他热情地跟她握手,“我都没认出你来!”他重复道。

We left the shop without buying anything and Mr Holbrook walked home with us. He was clearly delighted to meet his old love again. He even spoke of Miss Jenkyns as 'Your poor sister! Well, well! We all have our faults.' And he said as he left us that he hoped to see Miss Matty again soon.

我们什么也没买就离开了商店,霍尔布鲁克先生陪着我们走回家。又见到了他的旧情人,他显然非常高兴。提到詹金斯小姐,他甚至说“你可怜的姐姐!唉,唉!我们都有过错。”后来他离开我们的时候说他希望不久以后能再见到马蒂小姐。

She went straight to her room. When she came down at tea-time, I saw that she had been crying.

她径直回到自己的房间。吃茶点的时间她走下楼时,我发现她哭过。

A few days later, a note came from Mr Holbrook. It was now June. Would Miss Matty and I like to come out to Woodley for a day? he asked. He had also invited his cousin Miss Pole, so the three of us could ride in the same carriage.

几天后,霍尔布鲁克先生写了张便条来。现在已经是六月了。马蒂小姐和我愿不愿意出来到伍德利玩一天?他问道。他还邀请了他的表妹波尔小姐,这样我们三个可以同乘一辆马车去。

At first, Miss Matty refused to accept. Then, when we finally persuaded her, she went back to the shop and chose a new bonnet for the visit.

起先,马蒂小姐不愿接受这个邀请。后来,当我们最终说服她的时候,她又到商店里为这次造访买了顶新圆帽。

It was clear that she had never been to Woodley before. She trembled as we drove there, and I could see that she was thinking about the past. Towards the end of the journey, she sat very straight and looked sadly out of the carriage windows.

显然她以前从未到过伍德利。我们驱车前往那里的路上,她有些发抖,我看得出她在回忆以前的事情。旅程快结束的时候,她坐得笔直,忧郁地望着马车窗外。

The house itself stood among fields, and there was an old garden full of roses and little fruit-trees. 'It's very pretty,' whispered Miss Matty as Mr Holbrook appeared at the door, smiling warmly.

房子就建在田里,还有一个长满玫瑰花和小果树的老花园。“真漂亮。”马蒂小姐低声说道,此时霍尔布鲁克先生出现在门口,热情地微笑着。

The day passed very happily. We sat and talked in a nice, untidy room filled with books. I asked to look at the garden, and this pleased the old gentleman. His housekeeper gave us dinner in a kind of kitchen, and later I walked with him across his fields. Then, when we came back to the house, he offered to read us some new poems by Mr Tennyson.

这一天过得很愉快。我们坐在一个漂亮的房间里说话,房间里堆满了书,有些乱。我提出要看一看花园,这让老先生很高兴。他的管家在一个算是厨房的地方招待我们吃了午饭,随后我和他一起在他的田地里散步。后来,回到房子里的时候,他提出给我们朗诵几首丁尼生先生的新诗。

Yes, please do, cousin Thomas!' said Miss Pole.

“好啊,请吧,托马斯表哥!”波尔小姐说。

I thought this was because she wanted me to hear his beautiful reading. Afterwards, though, she said it was because she had wanted to go on with her knitting.

我想这是因为她想让我听听他那精彩的朗诵,虽然后来她说那是因为她想继续织毛线。

Whatever Mr Holbrook did was agreeable to Miss Matty. She fell asleep soon after he began a long poem called Locksley Hall, but she woke up when his voice stopped. 'How pretty!' she said quickly.

对于马蒂小姐来说,霍尔布鲁克先生所做的一切都令人称心如意。他开始读一首叫作《洛克斯利大厅》的长诗,不久她就睡着了,不过他的声音一停,她又醒来了。“多好啊!”她立即说。

Pretty, madam? It's beautiful!'

“好吗,小姐?那是美!”

The poem was about lost love, but Miss Matty had not heard it. 'Oh, yes, I meant beautiful!' she apologized. 'It's so like that beautiful poem by Dr Johnson that my sister used to read. I forget the name of it.'

这首诗描写的是失落的爱情,但是马蒂小姐并没有听到这些。“哦,是的。我的意思是美!”她抱歉地说道,“这和约翰逊博士写的那首美妙的诗很像,我姐姐以前经常读的。我忘记叫什么名字了。”

Which poem do you mean, madam? What was it about?'

“你指的是哪首诗,小姐?写的是什么?”

I don't remember what it was about. But it was by Dr Johnson and it was very beautiful...'

“我不记得写的是什么。不过那是约翰逊博士写的,写得很美……”

As we got into the carriage to return to Cranford, Mr Holbrook promised to call on us soon. This seemed to please Miss Matty, although as soon as we had left Woodley, she began to worry about Martha. Had the girl had a 'follower' while we were absent?

我们坐上马车返回克兰福德的时候,霍尔布鲁克先生答应不久就来拜访我们。这似乎令马蒂小姐很高兴,虽然我们一离开伍德利,她就开始为马莎担心了。我们不在的时候,这个女孩儿有没有带个“追求者”来?

However, there was no sign of a 'follower' as Martha came to help us out of the carriage. She always took good care of Miss Matty, and tonight she said:

然而,马莎来帮我们下马车的时候,看不到任何有“追求者”的迹象。她总是把马蒂小姐照顾得好好的,今晚她说:

Eh! Dear madam, you shouldn't go out in the evening in such a thin shawl! You'll catch cold, and at your age, madam, you should be careful.'

“啊!亲爱的小姐,你晚上不应该披着这么薄的披肩出去!你会着凉的,你这个年纪,小姐,你应该注意。”

My age!' said Miss Matty, speaking almost crossly. 'My age! Why, Martha, how old do you think I am?'

“我这个年纪!”马蒂小姐几乎有些生气地说,“我这个年纪!怎么,马莎,你觉得我有多老?”

Well, madam, I'd say you were getting close to sixty—but I didn't mean any harm.'

“嗯,小姐。我说你快60了——不过我并没有什么恶意。”

Martha, I'm not yet fifty-two!' said Miss Matty. Today's visit had reminded her of the past, and I think she did not want to remember how long ago it was.

“马莎,我还不到52岁!”马蒂小姐说道。今天的访问让她想起了过去,我想她不愿记起那是多久以前的事。

Miss Matty said nothing to me, then or ever, about Mr Holbrook but, by careful watching, I saw that she still loved him. She now wore her best cap every day, and sat near the window to see down into the street.

关于霍尔布鲁克先生,无论是当时还是那以后,马蒂小姐什么也没对我说,不过通过仔细观察,我发现她仍然爱着他。现在她每天都戴着最好的帽子,坐在窗边,这样可以看见下面的街道。

He came. He asked politely about our journey home from Woodley, then suddenly he got up. 'Well, madam,' he said to Miss Matilda, 'can I bring you anything from Paris? I'm going there in a week or two.'

他来了。他礼貌地问我们从伍德利回家路上的情况,然后突然站了起来。“嗯,小姐,”他对马蒂尔达小姐说,“我能不能给你带点儿巴黎的东西?我一两个星期以后就要去那里。”

To Paris?!'

“去巴黎?!”

Yes. I've always wished to see it... Oh dear, I almost forgot! Here are the poems you liked at my house.' He pulled a small packet from his coat-pocket and gave it to her. 'Goodbye, Matty,' he said. 'Take care of yourself.'

“是啊。我一直想去那里看看……哦,亲爱的,我差点儿忘了!这是你在我家喜欢上的那几首诗。”他从外衣口袋里掏出一个小包递给她,“再见,马蒂,”他说,“你要保重。”

He had gone. But he had given her a book and he had called her Matty, just as he used to thirty years ago.

他走了。但是他给了她一本书,而且他还叫她马蒂,就像他30年前做的那样。

Soon after this I left Cranford, ordering Martha to take good care of her mistress and to write to me if anything was wrong.

这之后不久我就离开了克兰福德,命令马莎好好照料她的女主人,如果有什么事就给我写信。

In November, she sent me a note to say that Miss Matilda was 'very low and not eating her food', so I went back. Miss Matty certainly looked white and miserable. I called on Miss Pole next morning and learnt that Thomas Holbrook was seriously ill. The journey to Paris had been too much for him. Ah! So that was why Miss Matty was miserable.

11月,她给我写了张便条,说马蒂尔达小姐“情绪很低落,吃不下饭”,所以我就回去了。马蒂小姐看起来的确面色苍白,神情惨淡。第二天早上我拜访了波尔小姐,才知道托马斯·霍尔布鲁克病得很重。去巴黎的那次旅行让他吃不消。啊!这就是马蒂小姐痛苦的原因。

I must come back with you, my dear,' said Miss Pole, 'because I promised to give Miss Matty the latest report on cousin Thomas. I'm sorry to say his housekeeper has informed me that he'll not live much longer.'

“我必须和你一起回去,亲爱的,”波尔小姐说,“因为我答应向马蒂小姐报告托马斯表哥的最新情况。很遗憾,他的管家已经通知我他活不了多久了。”

I took Miss Pole into Miss Matty's little drawing-room and left the two ladies alone.

我把波尔小姐带进马蒂小姐的小休息室,然后就让这两位女士单独待在一起。

Miss Matty did not come down to dinner, but that evening she talked to me about her girlhood. Clearly, she had been thinking about her sister, who had not wanted her to marry Thomas Holbrook. Perhaps they had not been kind thoughts, and now Miss Matty felt sorry, because she wanted to tell me how good and how clever Deborah had been. She and her mother had taught cooking and sewing to poor girls, and she had once danced with a lord, and she used to go to Arley Hall where they kept thirty servants... Deborah had also nursed her through a long illness. That illness, I decided, had followed Miss Matty's refusal of Mr Holbrook.

马蒂小姐没下楼吃晚饭,不过那天晚上她和我说起了自己的少女时代。显然,她一直在想她姐姐,是她姐姐不让她嫁给托马斯·霍尔布鲁克的。也许这些想法不厚道,现在马蒂小姐觉得后悔了,因为她想告诉我德博拉有多好、多聪明。她和她母亲都给穷人家的女孩子教过烹饪和缝纫,而且她还和一位勋爵跳过舞,她以前常常去阿莱厅,那里有30个仆人……她有一次生病的时候德博拉还照顾了她很长时间。那场病,我想,是在马蒂小姐拒绝了霍尔布鲁克先生之后得上的。

The next day, Miss Pole came to say that Mr Holbrook was dead. Miss Matty trembled and could not speak. She remained silent all that evening. Then she called the maid.

第二天,波尔小姐来告诉我们霍尔布鲁克先生的死讯。马蒂小姐浑身颤抖,说不出话来。整个晚上她都沉默不语。后来她把女仆叫来。

Martha,' she said at last, 'you are young...'

“马莎,”她最后说,“你还年轻……”

Martha curtsied. 'Yes, madam. Twenty-two.'

马莎行了个屈膝礼,“是,小姐。22岁。”

I did say that you must not have any followers. But perhaps, Martha, you will one day meet a young man whom you like and who likes you. If you do, and if I decide that he is respectable, he may come to see you once a week.'

“我确实说过你不能有追求者。不过也许,马莎,有一天你会遇到一个中意的年轻人,而他也喜欢你。如果是那样,如果我认为他值得尊敬,他可以一周来这里见你一次。”

Miss Matty was surprised, very surprised, by Martha's ready answer. 'Please, madam, there's Jem Hearn, madam. He earns three-and-sixpence a day, and he's six feet tall, and he'll be glad to come tomorrow night!'

马蒂小姐对马莎的迅速回答感到惊讶,非常惊讶。“那太好了,小姐,有一个杰姆·赫恩,小姐。他一天挣三先令六便士,有六英尺高,他会很乐意明天晚上来!”

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