双语·《刀锋》 第一章 六

CHAPTER ONE 6
第一章 六

The following evening, having refused Elliott's telephoned offer to fetch me, I arrived quite safely at Mrs. Bradley's house.I had been delayed by someone who had come to see me and was a trifle late.So much noise came from the sitting-room as I walked upstairs that I thought it must be a large party and I was surprised to find that there were, including myself, only twelve people.Mrs.Bradley was very grand in green satin with a dog-collar of seed pearls round her neck, and Elliott in his well-cut dinner jacket looked elegant as he alone could look.When he shook hands with me my nostrils were assailed by all the perfumes of Arabia.I was introduced to a stoutish, tall man with a red face who looked somewhat ill at ease in evening clothes.He was a Dr.Nelson, but at the moment that meant nothing to me.The rest of the party consisted of Isabel's friends, but their names escaped me as soon as I heard them.The girls were young and pretty and the men young and upstanding.None of them made any impression on me except one boy and that only because he was so tall and so massive.He must have been six foot three or four and he had great broad shoulders.Isabel was looking very pretty；she was dressed in white silk, with a long, hobbled skirt that concealed her fat legs；the cut of her frock showed that she had well-developed breasts；her bare arms were a trifle fat, but her neck was lovely.She was excited and her fine eyes sparkled.There was no doubt about it, she was a very pretty and desirable young woman, but it was obvious that unless she took care she would develop an unbecoming corpulence.
次日，艾略特打电话来，说要接我去布雷德利夫人家，我回绝了他的好意，傍晚时分独自前往，也照样平安无事地抵达了目的地。出门前有客来访，稍微耽搁了一下。到达后上楼，客厅里人声嘈杂，我心想人数一定非常多，可终了意外地发现连我算上总共才十二个人。布雷德利夫人穿一身绿缎子衣服，戴一串细珠项链，显得仪态万方。艾略特穿的是无尾礼服，裁剪得体，一派儒雅的风度，大有超尘脱俗之风。跟他握手，他身上的阿拉伯香水味直朝我的鼻孔里钻。他把我介绍给一个身材稍胖的高个子，那人是个红脸膛，晚礼服穿在身上总显得别别扭扭的。此人就是纳尔逊医生，但当时我听了他的名字一点感觉也没有。其他的来客都是伊莎贝尔的朋友，那些人的名字被介绍后，我边听边忘。姑娘们个个年轻，人人漂亮，小伙子则都玉树临风。这些人除了当中的一个男孩，其他的没有给我留下任何印象——我记住了那男孩，只是因为他个头太高，身材太魁梧了。说起来，他一定有六英尺三四英寸高，生得虎背熊腰。伊莎贝尔看上去很漂亮，穿白绸上衣和拖地长裙（裙子长，正好遮住她的胖腿）；衣服颇显腰身，彰显她有着丰胸肥乳；露在外边的膀子略显肥胖，但脖颈是很可爱的。但见她情绪高昂，一双美眸闪闪发光。毫无疑问，她是个美丽、性感的年轻女子，但是看得出如果不当心的话，她会胖过头的。

At dinner I found myself placed between Mrs. Bradley and a shy drab girl who seemed even younger than the others.As we sat down, to make the way easier Mrs.Bradley explained that her grandparents lived at Marvin and that she and Isabel had been at school together.Her name, the only one I heard mentioned, was Sophie.A lot of chaff was bandied across the table, everyone talked at the top of his voice and there was a great deal of laughter.They seemed to know one another very well.When I was not occupied with my hostess I attempted to make conversation with my neighbour, but I had no great success.She was quieter than the rest.She was not pretty, but she had an amusing face, with a little tilted nose, a wide mouth, and greenish blue eyes；her hair, simply done, was of a sandy brown.She was very thin and her chest was almost as flat as a boy's.She laughed at the badinage that went on, but in a manner that was a little forced so that you felt she wasn't as much amused as she pretended to be.I guessed that she was making an effort to be a good sport.I could not make out if she was a trifle stupid or only painfully timid and, having tried various topics of conversation only to have them dropped, for want of anything better to say I asked her to tell me who all the people at table were.
吃饭时，我坐在布雷德利夫人和一位腼腆、拘谨的女孩中间——那女孩似乎是在场的人中最年轻的一个。落座后，布雷德利夫人引出了话头，说那女孩的祖父母住在马文，而她曾经和伊莎贝尔是校友。她的芳名叫索菲（这是我听到布雷德利夫人提起的唯一一个人的名字）。席间，客人们插科打诨，大家都可着嗓门说话，欢声笑语不绝于耳，人人好像都是知根知底的老熟人。我跟女主人聊天，抽个空就想跟邻座的女孩唠嗑，但是却讨个没趣——她不太爱跟人说话。论相貌她不算漂亮，可是脸蛋却很有趣味——小鼻头微翘，阔嘴，眼珠蓝里带绿。她的头发呈沙棕色，式样梳得很简单，身材消瘦，胸部几乎像男孩子一样平坦。别人开玩笑，她也跟着笑，但样子很勉强，叫人觉得她并没有真的被逗乐，开心的样子是装出来的。我猜想她在走过场，应付应付场面。不知她是天性愚钝还是过于拘谨，反正我频频兜起话头均落了个半路夭折，后来实在无话可说，就请她告诉我席间这些人都是些什么样的人。

“Well, you know Dr. Nelson，”she said, indicating the middle-aged man who was opposite me on Mrs.Bradley's other side.“He's Larry's guardian.He's our doctor at Marvin.He's very clever, he invents gadgets for planes that no one will have anything to do with, and when he isn’t doing that he drinks.”
“哦，纳尔逊医生你是认识的。”她指的是坐在布雷德利夫人对面的那个中年人，“他是拉里的监护人，是马文当地的一个医生，脑子很聪明，发明了许多飞机零件，只是没有人愿意买。无事可做的时候，他喜欢喝上一杯。”

There was a gleam in her pale eyes as she said this that made me suspect that there was more in her than I had at first supposed. She went on to give me the names of one young thing after another, telling me who their parents were, and in the case of the men what college they had been to and what work they did.It wasn't very illuminating. “She's very sweet，”or：“He's a very good golfer.”
说话时，她那浅色的眼睛里光彩熠熠，我不禁觉得她恐怕并不像我最初猜度的那般缺心眼。接下来，她把那些年轻人的名字一一告诉我，还告诉我那些人的父母是什么样的人。如果说的是男子，她就告诉我对方曾在何处上大学，现在干什么工作。她的介绍平淡无奇，或说“她很可爱”，或说“他高尔夫打得很好”。

“And who is that big fellow with the eyebrows?”
“那个眉毛浓浓的大个子是什么人？”

“That?Oh, that's Gray Maturin. His father's got an enormous house on the river at Marvin.He's our millionaire.We're very proud of him.He gives us class.Maturin, Hobbes, Rayner, and Smith.He's one of the richest men in Chicago and Gray’s his only son.”
“哪个？哦，那是格雷·马图林。他父亲在马文河畔有一所大房子，是我们那一带的百万富翁。我们都以他为荣，他把我们的身份都抬高了。马图林、霍布斯、雷纳和史密斯都是响当当的名字。在芝加哥，马图林是最有钱的了，而格雷是他的独生子。”

She put such a pleasant irony into that list of names that I gave her an inquisitive glance. She caught it and flushed.
她讲到这一连串有钱人的名字时，语气戏谑、刻薄，使我不由得向她投去询问的目光，她见了脸发红，像块红布。

“Tell me more about Mr. Maturin.”
“马图林先生的情况，请你再仔细讲讲。”

“There's nothing to tell. He's rich.He's highly respected.He built us a new church at Marvin and he's given a million dollars to the University of Chicago.”
“没有什么可讲的。他是个富翁，很受人尊敬，在马文为民众盖了一所新教堂，还捐了一百万给芝加哥大学。”

“His son's a fine-looking fellow.”
“他儿子长得很帅气。”

“He's nice. You'd never think his grandfather was shanty Irish and his grandmother a Swedish waitress in an eating house.”
“他是个大好人。从他身上你绝想不到他祖父是个爱尔兰水手，祖母是瑞典人，曾在一家饭馆当服务员。”

Gray Maturin was striking rather than handsome. He had a rugged, unfinished look；a short blunt nose, a sensual mouth, and the florid Irish complexion；a great quantity of raven black hair, very sleek, and under heavy eyebrows clear, very blue eyes.Though built on so large a scale he was finely proportioned, and stripped he must have been a fine figure of a man.He was obviously very powerful.His virility was impressive.He made Larry who was sitting next to him, though only three or four inches shorter, look puny.
格雷·马图林虽然并非英气逼人，却也气宇轩昂。他有着粗犷、豪放的气质，狮子鼻，嘴巴性感，肤色是爱尔兰人的那种红润色，一头浓密的黑发闪着光泽，眉毛粗重，清澈的眼睛湛蓝湛蓝的，虽则体格高大，却十分匀称，脱光衣服后暴露出来的一定是健美的身段。一看就知道他力大无穷，雄赳赳的样子给人以深刻的印象。坐在他身边的拉里虽则不过比他矮三四英寸，却比他显得文弱许多。

“He's very much admired，”said my shy neighbour.“I know several girls who would stop at nothing short of murder to get him. But they haven't a chance.”
“崇拜他的人是很多的。”我的这位腼腆的邻座说，“据我所知，有好几个女孩子在拼命追他，就差没弄出人命了。可是她们一点指望也没有。”

“Why not?”
“为什么？”

“You don't know anything, do you?”
“你一点都不知道吗？”

“How should I?”
“我怎么会知道。”

“He's so much in love with Isabel, he can't see straight, and Isabel's in love with Larry.”
“他爱伊莎贝尔爱得都昏了头，而伊莎贝尔爱的却是拉里。”

“What's to prevent him from setting to and cutting Larry out?”
“他完全可以争一下嘛，把伊莎贝尔从拉里手中夺过来。”

“Larry's his best friend.”
“拉里是他的铁哥们。”

“I suppose that complicates matters.”
“这样子可就麻烦了。”

“If you're as high-principled as Gray is.”
“格雷是讲哥们义气的。”

I was not sure whether she said this in all seriousness or whether there was in her tone a hint of mockery. There was nothing saucy in her manner, forward or pert, and yet I got the impression that she was lacking neither in humour nor in shrewdness.I wondered what she was really thinking while she made conversation with me, but that I knew I should never find out.She was obviously unsure of herself and I conceived the notion that she was an only child who had lived a secluded life with people a great deal older than herself.There was a modesty, an unobtrusiveness about her that I found engaging, but if I was right in thinking that she had lived much alone I guessed that she had quietly observed the older persons she lived with and had formed decided opinions upon them.We who are of mature age seldom suspect how unmercifully and yet with what insight the very young judge us.I looked again into her greenish blue eyes.
我吃不准她这话的意思是当真，还是话中有话、夹枪带棒的。她的态度不卑不亢，一副不显山不露水的样子，而我产生了一种印象，觉得她既不缺幽默又不缺心眼。真不知她一边跟我说话一边在肚子里转什么心思。有一点我倒是知道的：我永远也别想摸透她。显而易见，她有点缺乏自信。我猜想她大概是个独生女，跟比她大许多的成年人在一起过着与世隔绝的日子。她在气质上贤淑静雅，倒是挺招人喜欢的。她常年过着孤独的生活——这一点如果我没猜错的话，那她一定在默默观察着成年人的一举一动，而且对他们形成了根深蒂固的看法。我们有些年纪的人很少觉察到年轻人对我们的判断是多么无情，然而又多么深刻。想到这里，我又瞧了瞧她那蓝里带绿的眼睛。

“How old are you?”I asked.
“你多大了？”我问道。

“Seventeen.”
“十七岁。”

“Do you read much?”I asked at a venture.
“你爱看书吗？”我唐突地冒出了这么一句。

But before she could answer, Mrs. Bradley, attentive to her duties as a hostess, drew me to her with some remark and before I could disengage myself dinner was at an end.The young people went off at once to wherever they were going and the four of us who were left went up to the sitting-room.
可是，未等她回答，布雷德利夫人要尽地主之谊，跟我搭上了话头，我还没来得及摆脱，晚宴就结束了。那些年轻人转眼走得不知去向，剩下了我们四个人，就到楼上客厅里去坐。

I was surprised that I had been asked to this party, for after a little desultory conversation they began to talk of a matter that I should have thought they would have preferred to discuss in private. I could not make up my mind whether it would be more discreet in me to get up and go or whether, as a disinterested audience of one, I was useful to them.The question at issue was Larry's odd disinclination to go to work, and it had been brought to a point by an offer from Mr.Maturin, the father of the boy who had been at dinner, to take him into his office.It was a fine opportunity.With ability and industry Larry could look forward to making in due course a great deal of money.Young Gray Maturin was eager for him to take it.
我奇怪的是，不知他们为何要邀请我加入他们的谈话，因为闲聊了几句之后，他们便切入了一个话题——一个我认为他们一定愿意私下谈论的话题。我举棋不定，不知是不是应该知趣地起身告辞，或者作为局外人帮着出出主意。这个话题涉及的是拉里，说他看法古怪，不愿意参加工作。话题的核心点是：马图林先生（即刚才同席吃饭的那个叫格雷的男孩的父亲）答应给他一份工作，让他进马图林家的公司。这可是一个天赐的好机会。进了公司，只要能干和勤奋，拉里最终一定能挣很多的钱。小格雷·马图林一心希望他能接受这个工作。

I cannot remember all that was said, but the gist of it is clear in my memory. On Larry's return from France Dr.Nelson, his guardian, had suggested that he should go to college, but he had refused.It was natural that he should want to do nothing for a while；he had had a hard time and had been twice, though not severely, wounded.Dr.Nelson thought that he was still suffering from shock and it seemed a good idea that he should rest till he had completely recovered.But the weeks passed into months and now it was over a year since he'd been out of uniform.It appeared that he had done well in the air corps and on his return he cut something of a figure in Chicago, the result of which was that several business men offered him positions.He thanked them, but refused.He gave no reason except that he hadn't made up his mind what he wanted to do.He became engaged to Isabel.This was no surprise to Mrs.Bradley since they had been inseparable for years and she knew that Isabel was in love with him.She was fond of him and thought he would make Isabel happy.
我记不清那次谈话的具体内容了，但其主旨却清晰地印在了我的脑海里。拉里从法国返回，他的监护人纳尔逊医生劝他进大学深造，可是他拒绝了。他一时还不想忙碌起来，这也是很自然的——他毕竟在战争中吃了不少苦，还负了两次伤（虽然伤势并不严重）。纳尔逊医生认为他对战争的余悸还没有消除，休息休息直到完全恢复正常，这也在情理之中。可是，一星期又一星期过去了，一个月又一个月过去了，如今离他脱下军装已经一年多的时间过去了。他在空军里好像干得不错，回到芝加哥后成了个八面风光的人物，商界人士纷纷向他伸出橄榄枝，邀请他加盟。他先是表示感谢，继而婉言谢绝。他不解释原因，只说自己还没有拿定主意，尚不知干什么好。后来，他和伊莎贝尔订了婚。布雷德利夫人并不觉得意外，因为这两人密不可分，已相处多年，她知道伊莎贝尔深深爱着拉里。她本人也喜欢拉里，认为拉里能给女儿带来幸福。

“Her character's stronger than his. She can give him just what he lacks.”
“伊莎贝尔的个性比拉里强，可以弥补他的不足。”布雷德利夫人说。

Though they were both so young Mrs. Bradley was quite willing that they should marry at once, but she wasn't prepared for them to do so until Larry had gone to work.He had a little money of his own, but even if he had had ten times more than he had she would have insisted on this.So far as I could gather, what she and Elliott wished to find out from Dr.Nelson was what Larry intended to do.They wanted him to use his influence to get him to accept the job that Mr.Maturin offered him.
尽管两人年纪都这么小，布雷德利夫人却愿意他们立刻结婚，不过有一个条件——拉里得先有份工作。拉里手头是有点钱的，但即便他的腰包比这鼓十倍，她还是要坚持这一原则。据我猜测，她和艾略特想从纳尔逊医生口中了解拉里的意图，并且希望纳尔逊医生运用他的影响力，劝说拉里接受马图林先生给他的职位。

“You know I never had much authority over Larry，”he said.“Even as a boy he went his own way.”
“你知道我从来就管不了拉里，”纳尔逊医生说，“他小的时候就我行我素。”

“I know. You let him run wild.It's a miracle he's turned out as well as he has.”
“这我知道。你对他是大撒手。他没有变坏，完全是个奇迹。”布雷德利夫人说。

Dr. Nelson, who had been drinking quite heavily, gave her a sour look.His red face grew a trifle redder.
纳尔逊医生喝了不少酒，一听这话，白了她一眼，原本就红的脸变得更红了。

“I was very busy. I had my own affairs to attend to.I took him because there was nowhere else for him to go and his father was a friend of mine.He wasn't easy to do anything with.”
“我没空，有一屁股的事忙不完。当初我收留他，是因为他无处可去。谁叫他父亲跟我是朋友呢。他可不是个容易管教的主儿。”

“I don't know how you can say that，”Mrs. Bradley answered tartly.“He has a very sweet disposition.”
“真不知你怎么能说出这种话。”布雷德利夫人尖刻地说，“他的性情是十分可爱的。”

“What are you to do with a boy who never argues with you, but does exactly what he likes and when you get mad at him just says he's sorry and lets you storm?If he'd been my own son I could have beaten him. I couldn't beat a boy who hadn't got a relation in the world and whose father had left him to me because he thought I'd be kind to him.”
“你叫我怎么办？这孩子从不跟你顶嘴，却想干什么照干什么。你气坏了的时候，他就说声对不起，然后就由着你发火。他要是我自己的儿子，我下得了手打他。可这么一个举目无亲的孩子，他父亲把他托给了我，心想我会善待他的，我总不能上巴掌吧？”

“That's neither here nor there，”said Elliott, somewhat irritably.“The position is this：he's dawdled around long enough；he's got a fine chance of a position in which he stands to make a lot of money, and if he wants to marry Isabel he must take it.”
“你们净讲些不着边的话。”艾略特说，语气有点气呼呼的，“问题在于，他整日游手好闲，时间已经够长的了，现在有个好机会可以就业，能挣很多的钱；他如果想娶伊莎贝尔，就必须抓住这个机会。”

“He must see that in the present state of the world，”Mrs. Bradley put in，“a man has to work.He's perfectly strong and well now.We all know how after the war between the States, there were men who never did a stroke after they came back from it.They were a burden to their families and useless to the community.”
“必须让他知道，人活在世上就得有工作干。”布雷德利夫人插进来说，“他现在已恢复了元气，身体挺好的。大家都知道，南北战争之后，有些人回来从不做事，成了家庭的累赘，而且对社会毫无益处。”

Then I added my word.
就在这时，我开口说了话：

“But what reason does he give for refusing the various offers that are made him?”
“那么多人邀请他去工作，都被拒绝了，那他给出的理由是什么呢？”

“None. Except that they don't appeal to him.”
“无理由。他只说那些工作不合他的心意。”

“But doesn't he want to do anything?”
“那么，他究竟想干什么样的工作呢？”

“Apparently not.”
“显然没有他愿意干的。”

Dr. Nelson helped himself to another highball.He took a long drink and then looked at his two friends.
纳尔逊医生给自己又倒上一杯掺了苏打水的威士忌，喝了一大口，然后看看他的两个朋友。

“Shall I tell you what my impression is?I dare say I'm not a great judge of human nature, but at any rate afterthirty-odd years of practice I think I know something about it. The war did something to Larry.He didn't come back the same person that he went.It's not only that he's older.Something happened that changed his personality.”
“你们愿意不愿意听听我的拙见？我不敢说自己知人善辨，但毕竟行医三十余年，对人性也许还是略知一二的。这次战争改变了拉里。他从战场归来，已经不再是以前的他了，不仅增长了年岁，不知遇到什么事，连性格也变了。”

“What sort of thing?”I asked.
“遇到什么事了？”我问。

“I wouldn't know. He's very reticent about his war experiences.”Dr.Nelson turned to Mrs.Bradley.“Has he ever talked to you about them, Louisa?”
“这我无从得知。他对自己的战争经历总是讳莫如深。”纳尔逊医生说着，把脸转向了布雷德利夫人：“路易莎，他可跟你谈过他的经历？”

She shook her head.
布雷德利夫人摇了摇头。

“No. When he first came back we tried to get him to tell us some of his adventures, but he only laughed in that way of his and said there was nothing to tell.He hasn't even told Isabel.She's tried and tried, but she hasn't got a thing out of him.”
“没有。他初回来时，我们想让他讲讲战场上的经历，他却总是打个哈哈，说没有什么可讲的。甚至对伊莎贝尔，他也闭口不谈。伊莎贝尔不知问过多少次了，可一点名堂也没问出来。”

The conversation went on in this unsatisfactory way and presently Dr. Nelson, looking at his watch, said he must go.I prepared to leave with him, but Elliott pressed me to stay.When he had gone, Mrs.Bradley apologized for troubling me with their private affairs and expressed her fear that I had been bored.
谈话就这么进行下去，效果不尽如人意。过了一会儿，纳尔逊医生看看表，说他必须告辞了。我准备跟他一同走，但艾略特硬把我留了下来。待纳尔逊医生走后，布雷德利夫人向我表示歉意，说拿这些私事搅扰我，恐怕我一定觉得腻味。

“But you see it's all very much on my mind，”she finished.
“不过，你从中也可以看到，这成了我的一件很大的心事。”她最后说道。

“Mr. Maugham is very discreet, Louisa；you needn't be afraid of telling him anything.I haven't the feeling that Bob Nelson and Larry are very close, but there are some things that Louisa and I thought we'd better not mention to him.”
“毛姆先生为人很谨慎，路易莎，你不必担心，有什么事只管告诉他好啦。我并不觉得鲍勃·纳尔逊和拉里怎样亲密，不过，有些事路易莎和我都觉得不好开口跟他提。”

“Elliott.”
“艾略特。”

“You've told him so much, you may as well tell him the rest. I don't know whether you noticed Gray Maturin at dinner?”
“话都说这么多了，何不将事情全都兜底讲出来。不知你吃饭时注意到格雷·马图林没有？”

“He's so big, one could hardly fail to.”
“他块头那么大，谁都会注意到的。”

“He's a beau of Isabel's. All the time Larry was away he was very attentive.She likes him, and if the war had lasted much longer she might very well have married him.He proposed to her.She didn't accept and she didn't refuse.Louisa guessed she didn't want to make up her mind till Larry came home.”
“他也是伊莎贝尔的一个追求者，拉里不在的时候，一直对伊莎贝尔殷勤备至。伊莎贝尔也喜欢他。假如战争再拖久一点，她很可能就嫁给他了。格雷倒是向她求过婚，她没有接受，也没有拒绝。路易莎猜她是不愿意在拉里回来之前就决定自己的终身大事。”

“How is it that he wasn't in the war?”I asked.
“格雷为什么不去参战呢？”我问。

“He strained his heart playing football. It's nothing serious, but the army wouldn't take him.Anyhow when Larry came home he had no chance.Isabel turned him down flat.”
“他因为踢足球，心脏出了点毛病，其实并没有什么大不了的，可是军队硬是不接受他。总之，拉里一回来，他就没戏了，伊莎贝尔彻底地拒绝了他的求婚。”

I didn't know what I was expected to say to that, so I said nothing. Elliott went on.With his distinguished appearance and his Oxford accent he couldn't have been more like an official of high standing at the Foreign Office.
真是清官难断家务事。所以我没发表任何议论。艾略特却滔滔不绝地说了下去。以他那样的堂堂仪表和牛津口音，足可以当一名外交部的高级官员。

“Of course Larry's a very nice boy and it was damned sporting of him to run away and join the air corps, but I'm a pretty good judge of character……”He gave a knowing little smile and made the only reference I ever heard him make to the fact that he had made a fortune by dealing in works of art.“Otherwise I shouldn't have at this moment a tidy sum in gilt-edged securities. And my opinion is that Larry will never amount to very much.He has no money to speak of and no standing.Gray Maturin is a very different proposition.He has a good old Irish name.They've had a bishop in the family, and a dramatist and several distinguished soldiers and scholars.”
“当然，拉里是个好孩子，就他私自溜了去参加空军这件事来说也是一种了不起的壮举。不过，我看人只看实质，而且一看一个准……”他颇具深意地微微一笑，说了一句推心置腹的话——这是唯一的一句我所听到的揭示他从事艺术品交易发财诀窍的话，“如若不然，我现在就不会拥有一笔数额相当大的金边证券了。依我看，拉里永远不会有大的出息，既不会有钱也不会有地位。格雷·马图林就全然不同了。他那古老的爱尔兰家族声望很好，出过一个主教、一个戏剧家，以及若干个出类拔萃的军人和学者。”

“How do you know all that?”I asked.
“这些情况你是怎么知道的？”我问。

“It's the sort of thing one knows，”he answered casually.“As a matter of fact I happened to be glancing through the Dictionary of National Biography the other day at the club and I came across the name.”
“反正是该知道的时候就知道了。”他漫不经心地说，“其实，我是无意中知道的。那天在俱乐部里翻阅《名人大辞典》，看到了这个家族。”

I didn't think it was my business to repeat what my neighbour at dinner had told me of the shanty Irishman and the Swedish waitress who were Gray's grandfather and grandmother. Elliott proceeded.
我原本想把晚饭时我的邻座告诉我的情况和盘托出，说马图林的祖父是爱尔兰的穷水手，祖母是瑞典的一个饭馆服务员，可又觉得犯不着多事，便将话又咽了回去。只听艾略特仍在高谈阔论。

“We've all known Henry Maturin for many years. He's a very fine man and a very rich one.Gray's stepping into the best brokerage house in Chicago.He's got the world at his feet.He wants to marry Isabel and one can't deny that from her point of view it would be a very good match.I’m all in favour of it myself and I know Louisa is too.”
“我们认识亨利·马图林已经有好多年了。他人品好，而且非常有钱。格雷正要进芝加哥最好的一家经济行，天下的人没有不羡慕的。他想娶伊莎贝尔，替她着想，不能不说是一门很好的亲事。我自己完全赞成，而且我知道路易莎也赞成。”

“You've been away from America so long, Elliott，”said Mrs. Bradley, with a dry smile，“You've forgotten that in this country girls don't marry because their mothers and their uncles are in favour of it.”
“艾略特，你离开美国太久了。”布雷德利夫人说道，脸上挤出一个微笑，“你忘记了在这个国家里，女孩子并不因为她们母亲或者舅舅赞成她们的婚姻就去嫁人。”

“That is nothing to be proud of, Louisa，”said Elliott sharply.“As the result of thirty years'experience I may tellyou that a marriage arranged with proper regard to position, fortune, and community of circumstances has every advantage over a love match. In France, which after all is the only civilized country in the world, Isabel would marry Gray without thinking twice about it；then, after a year or two, if she wanted it, she'd take Larry as her lover.Gray would install a prominent actress in a luxurious apartment, and everyone would be perfectly happy.”
“这种情况没有什么可以引以为自豪的，路易莎。”艾略特针锋相对地说，“根据我三十年的经验，我可以告诉你，一件婚事把地位、财产以及出身环境都考虑在内，要比爱情的结合强得多。法国算是世界上唯一的文明国家了吧。在法国，伊莎贝尔会毫不迟疑地嫁给格雷；婚后过上一两年，假如她愿意的话，可以把拉里当作她的情人；格雷呢，则可以置一所豪华公寓，养一个女明星嘛。那样会皆大欢喜。”

Mrs. Bradley was no fool.She looked at her brother with sly amusement.
布雷德利夫人不痴不傻，眼睛望着自家兄弟，心里只觉得好笑。

“The objection to that, Elliott, is that as the New York plays only come here for limited periods, Gray could only hope to keep the tenants of his luxurious apartment for a very uncertain length of time. That would surely be very unsettling for all parties.”
“艾略特，问题在于，纽约剧团来演戏，待的时间有限，明星住进格雷那所豪华公寓里，能够住多久，没个定数。这会让不管哪一方都觉得心里不安宁。”

Elliott smiled.
艾略特听后笑了。

“Gray could buy a seat on the New York stock exchange. After all, if you must live in America I can't see any object in living anywhere but in New York.”
“格雷可以在纽约证券交易所谋个缺嘛。在我看来，生活在美国，除了纽约，别的地方都是不能够住的。”

I left soon after this, but before I did Elliott, I hardly know why, asked me if I would lunch with him to meet the Maturins, father and son.
这以后不久我就辞别了。可是，在走之前，艾略特不知出于什么缘故，提出想请我跟他一道吃午饭，去会会马图林父子。

“Henry is the best type of the American businessman，”he said，“and I think you ought to know him. He's looked after our investments for many years.”
“若说美国的商人，亨利是最优秀的那一类了。”他说道，“你不妨跟他认识认识。他打理我们家的投资业已有许多个年头了。”

I hadn't any particular wish to do this, but no reason to refuse, so I said I would be glad to.
我并无结识此人的热情，可是一时又找不到推托之词，于是便答应了下来。