双语·《刀锋》 第二章 五

CHAPTER TWO 5
第二章 五

When Isabel entered the drawing-room she found that some people had dropped in to tea. There were two American women who lived in Paris, exquisitely gowned, with strings of pearls round their necks, diamond bracelets on their wrists and costly rings on their fingers.Though the hair of one was darkly hennaed and that of the other unnaturally golden they were strangely alike.They had the same heavily mascaraed eyelashes, the same brightly painted lips, the same rouged cheeks, the same slim figures, maintained at the cost of extreme mortification, the same clear, sharp features, the same hungry restless eyes；and you could not but be conscious that their lives were a desperate struggle to maintain their fading charms.They talked with inanity in a loud, metallic voice without a moment's pause, as though afraid that if they were silent for an instant the machine would run down and the artificial construction which was all they were would fall to pieces.There was also a secretary from the American Embassy, suave, silent, for he could not get a word in, and very much the man of the world, and a small dark Rumanian prince, all bows and servility, with little darting black eyes and a clean-shaven swarthy face, who was for ever jumping up to hand a teacup, pass a plate of cakes, or light a cigarette, and who shamelessly dished out to those present the most flattering, the most gross compliments.He was paying for all the dinners he had received from the objects of his adulation and for all the dinners he hoped to receive.
伊莎贝尔走进客厅，看见有几个客人在那儿喝茶。有两个是住在巴黎的美国女子，穿着非常考究，脖子上挂着珍珠项链，手上戴着钻石手镯，手指上套着价值昂贵的戒指。虽然有一个的头发染成了深红褐色，另一个的头发呈金黄色，颜色很不自然，二者看上去却出奇地相像。她们的眼睫毛都重重地涂了眉毛油，嘴唇都搽得红艳艳，脸蛋上都抹了胭脂，都有着由于刻苦修行而保持着的苗条身段，均是五官清爽、有棱有角，眼睛一刻不停地滴溜溜乱转。你不由得会想到，她们在拼命地挣扎，竭力想挽留住正在逝去的风韵。她们嗓门大、声音尖，说话一点内涵都没有，如连珠炮一般不停顿，仿佛生怕一停下来体内的机器就会发生故障，而她们也会像房屋一样轰然倒塌。在场的还有一个美国大使馆的秘书，彬彬有礼、八面玲珑，一直没有开口，因为他压根就插不进去话。再有就是一个皮肤黝黑的小个子罗马尼亚王子，点头哈腰，一副殷勤相，一双黑黑的老鼠眼善于察言观色，黑不溜秋的脸刮得净光。他时不时会跳起身为他人奉茶、点烟、端点心，厚颜无耻地献媚，甜言蜜语，极尽阿谀奉承之能事。他如此小心翼翼地恭维，是为了报答对方请他赴宴的恩情，并希望今后能获得更多的邀请。

Mrs. Bradley, seated at the tea table and dressed to please Elliott somewhat more grandly than she thought suitable to the occasion, performed her duties as hostess with her usual civil but rather indifferent composure.What she thought of her brother's guests I can only imagine.I never knew her more than slightly and she was a woman who kept herself to herself.She was not a stupid woman；in all the years she had lived in foreign capitals she had met innumerable people of all kinds and I think she summed them up shrewdly enough according to the standards of the small Virginian town where she was born and bred.I think she got a certain amount of amusement from observing their antics, and I don't believe she took their airs and graces any more seriously than she took the aches and pains of the characters in a novel which she knew from the beginning（otherwise she wouldn't have read it）would end happily.Paris, Rome, Peking had had no more effect on her Americanism than Elliott's devout Catholicism on her robust, but not inconvenient, Presbyterian faith.
布雷德利夫人坐在茶桌旁。为了让艾略特高兴，她违背自己的心愿特意打扮了一番，此时履行着女主人的义务，神情似平时那般平静、礼貌、淡然。至于她如何看待弟弟的客人，我就不得而知了。我和她不太熟悉，而她是个不显山不露水的人。她并不缺心眼，在外国的首都生活了那么多年，形形色色的人见了不计其数，想来能够根据生她养她的那座弗吉尼亚小镇的标准对来客做出明智的判断。看见几位来客丑态百出，恐怕她心里一定觉得相当可笑。对于客人们的风情万种也罢，忸怩作态也罢，她全然不当回事，就跟对待小说里的人物一样——书中人的悲伤和痛苦引不起她的共鸣，因为她一开始就知道小说的结局是圆满的（否则她就不会去读它了）。巴黎、罗马、北京对她的美国味没有产生什么影响，这情形就跟艾略特虔诚的天主教信仰没有影响到她坚定不移地信仰长老会宗教一样。

Isabel, with her youth, her strapping good looks, and her vitality, brought a breath of fresh air into that meretricious atmosphere. She swept in like a young earth goddess.The Rumanian prince leapt to his feet to draw forward a chair for her and with ample gesticulation did his shift.The two American ladies, with shrill amiabilities on their lips, looked her up and down, took in the details of her dress, and perhaps in their hearts felt a pang of dismay at being confronted with her exuberant youth.The American diplomat smiled to himself as he saw how false and haggard she made them look.But Isabel thought they were grand；she liked their rich clothes and expensive pearls and felt a twinge of envy for their sophisticated poise.She wondered if she would ever achieve that supreme elegance.Of course the little Rumanian was quite ridiculous, but he was rather sweet and even if he didn't mean the charming things he said it was nice to listen to them.The conversation which her entrance had interrupted was resumed, and they talked so brightly, with so much conviction that what they were saying was worth saying, that you almost thought they were talking sense.They talked of the parties they had been to and the parties they were going to.They gossiped about the latest scandal.They tore their friends to pieces.They bandied great names from one to the other.They seemed to know everybody.They were in on all the secrets.Almost in a breath they touched upon the latest play, the latest dressmaker, the latest portrait painter, and the latest mistress of the latest premier.One would have thought there was nothing they didn't know.Isabel listened with ravishment.It all seemed to her wonderfully civilized.This really was life.It gave her a thrilling sense of being in the midst of things.This was real.The setting was perfect.That spacious room with the Savonnerie carpet on the floor, the lovely drawings on the richly-panelled walls, the petit-point chairs on which they sat, the priceless pieces of marquetry, commodes and occasional tables, every piece worthy to go into a museum；it must have cost a fortune, that room, but it was worth it.Its beauty, its discretion struck her as never before because she had still so vividly in her mind the shabby little hotel room, with its iron bed and that hard, comfortless chair in which he had sat, that room that Larry saw nothing wrong in.It was bare, cheerless, and horrid.It made her shudder to remember it.
伊莎贝尔以她的青春、活力和活泼可爱的形象给客厅里庸俗的环境带来了一股清新的气息。她姗姗而至，犹如一个下凡的仙女。罗马尼亚王子慌不迭地站起来替她拉过一把椅子，手忙脚乱地向她献殷勤。两个美国女人尖着嗓子说了些亲热的话，把她从头到脚打量一番，观察着她穿戴的细微之处，面对她那生气勃勃的青春，心中也许产生了几分落寞。美国外交官看见伊莎贝尔的出现叫这两个女人显得姿态做作和面容憔悴，不由暗中一笑。可是，伊莎贝尔却觉得她们雍容华贵；她喜欢她们的华装丽服和昂贵的珍珠，而且还对她们的矫揉造作感到了一丝妒意。她不知道自己将来是不是也能够拥有如此仪态万方的风度。当然，那位小个子罗马尼亚人相当可笑，不过待人倒是挺殷勤的，就算他讲的那些好听的话言不由衷，听听也叫人高兴。她进来时打断的谈话现在又恢复了，而且说话人都是那么兴致勃勃，那样的自信笃定，好像她们谈的事情都是有价值的，让你会以为她们的谈吐富于理性。其谈话内容无非是她们参加过什么宴会，以及预备参加什么宴会。对于近来出现的花边新闻，她们津津乐道。她们把自己的朋友说得一无是处。谈到那些名人大姓，她们如数家珍。她们好像无人不晓，谁家的秘密都逃不过她们的眼睛。她们几乎可以一口气讲出一大堆爆料，有最时新的剧目、刚走红的服装设计师、最近才火起来的肖像画家、刚上台的首相才勾搭上的情妇。你会觉得天下没有她们不知道的事情。听得伊莎贝尔如痴如醉。她觉得，一切都是那样美妙和文明。这才是真正的生活，置身于其中给她一种心旷神怡的感觉。眼前的情景是真实的存在，眼前的环境完美无缺——房间宽敞，脚下铺着萨冯内里埃地毯，华美的镶板墙上挂着漂亮的画作，一把把座椅都是精雕细镂的作品，小柜子和茶几均为价钱不菲的镶嵌细工活，每一样东西都是精品，简直可以放在博物馆里展览。布置这个房间，一定花钱不少，但这笔钱花得值得。她以前从未注意到这儿竟如此美丽，品味如此高——拉里自称没有什么不好的旅馆里的那个寒碜的小房间，那儿的铁床和拉里坐的那把硬邦邦、别别扭扭的椅子，都还活跃在她的脑海里，形象是那样鲜明。拉里的房间空空如也，没有欢乐，只有悲哀，想起来就叫她不寒而栗。

The party broke up and Isabel was left with her mother and Elliott.
客人散了，只剩下了伊莎贝尔、她母亲以及艾略特三个人。

“Charming women，”said Elliott when he came back from seeing the two poor painted drabs to the door.“I knew them when they first settled in Paris. I never dreamt they'd turn out as well as they have.It's amazing, the adaptability of our women.You'd hardly know now they were Americans and Middle West into the bargain.”
“真是叫人着迷的女人。”艾略特把那两个涂脂抹粉的可怜蛋送到大门外之后，返回来说了这么一句，“她们刚来巴黎时，我就认识她们了。做梦也想不到她们竟有这般脱胎换骨的变化。咱们国家的女人之适应能力实在叫人惊叹。你简直看不出她们是美国人，而且是中西部来的。”

Mrs. Bradley, raising her eyebrows, without speaking gave him a look which he was too quick-witted not to understand.
布雷德利夫人抬起眼，什么话也没说，只是瞅了瞅弟弟。对方善于察言观色，哪能不晓得姐姐的意思。

“No one could ever say that of you, my poor Louisa，”he continued half acidly and half affectionately.“Though heaven knows, you've had every chance.”
“可怜的路易莎，这你恐怕是做不到的。”他半讥讽半亲热地说，“不过，老天爷知道，你在过去完全有这个能力。”

Mrs. Bradley pursed her lips.
布雷德利夫人听后噘了噘嘴。

“I'm afraid I've been a sad disappointment to you, Elliott, but to tell you the truth I'm very satisfied with myself as I am.”
“恐怕我让你觉得又失望又丢人，艾略特。不过，实话告诉你，我对自己现在的样子十分满意。”

“Tous les go?ts sont dans la nature，”Elliott murmured.
“悉听尊便。”艾略特叽里咕噜来了一句法语。

“I think I ought to tell you that I'm no longer engaged to Larry，”said Isabel.
“我跟拉里解除婚约了，我觉得应该告诉你们一声。”伊莎贝尔说道。

“Tut，”cried Elliott.“That'll put my luncheon table out for tomorrow. How on earth am I going to get another man at this short notice?”
“啊？”艾略特叫出了声，“这给我明天请的午宴出了个难题。这么短的时间，你叫我去哪儿找人补他的缺？”

“Oh, he's coming to lunch all right.”
“哦，午宴他还是要来的。”

“After you've broken off your engagement?That sounds very unconventional.”
“解除了婚约他还来？这好像跟一般人的做法不太相同。”

Isabel giggled. She kept her gaze on Elliott, for she knew her mother's eyes were fixed upon her and she didn't want to meet them.
伊莎贝尔咯咯笑了。她把目光聚焦在艾略特舅舅身上，因为她知道母亲在盯着她看，而她不想去直视母亲。

“We haven't quarrelled. We talked it over this afternoon and came to the conclusion we'd made a mistake.He doesn't want to come back to America；he wants to stop on in Paris.He's talking of going to Greece.”
“我们没有吵架。今天下午我们俩谈了谈心，最后都觉得我们的婚约是个错误。他不想回美国，而是想留在巴黎，还说要到希腊去。”

“What on earth for?There's no society in Athens. As a matter of fact I never thought so much of Greek art myself.Some of that Hellenistic stuff has a certain decadent charm that's rather attractive.But Phidias：no, no.”
“这是为什么？雅典可不是从事社交活动的好地方。事实上，我对希腊艺术从来就不大看在眼里。有些古希腊的艺术品倒是有那么一点颓废的魅力，还是可以吸引人眼球的。然而要说菲狄亚斯的作品——看不得，看不得。”

“Look at me, Isabel，”said Mrs. Bradley.
“你看着我，伊莎贝尔！”布雷德利夫人说。

Isabel turned and with a faint smile on her lips faced her mother. Mrs.Bradley gave her a scrutinizing stare, but all she said was，“H'm.”The girl hadn't been crying, that she saw；she looked calm and composed.
伊莎贝尔转过头来，唇边挂着淡淡的微笑，把脸朝向母亲。布雷德利夫人将她打量一番，最后什么也没说，只是哼了一声。布雷德利夫人看得出她没有哭过，神态安然、宁静。

“I think you're well out of it, Isabel，”said Elliott.“I was prepared to make the best of it, but I never thought it a good match. He wasn't really up to your mark, and the way he's been behaving in Paris is a pretty clear indication that he'll never amount to anything.With your looks and your connexions you can aspire to something better than that.I think you've behaved in a very sensible manner.”
“我觉得你解除婚约算是做对了，伊莎贝尔。”艾略特说，“我原本觉得也就凑合着吧，可心里总认为不是一桩美满的婚配。老实讲，他配不上你。看他在巴黎的所作所为就已经很清楚，他绝对不会有大的出息。凭你的容貌和社会关系，完全可以找一个比他强的对象。我认为这件事你处理得很有分寸。”

Mrs. Bradley gave her daughter a glance that was not devoid of anxiety.
布雷德利夫人看了一眼女儿，眼神里有几分担忧。

“You haven't done this on my account, Isabel?”
“你不是为了我才这么做的吧，伊莎贝尔？”

Isabel shook her head decidedly.
伊莎贝尔断然摇了摇头。

“No, darling, I've done it entirely on my own.”
“不，亲爱的妈妈，我这样做完全是出于我自己的原因。”