书虫6级《名利场》第七章: 团聚、争吵及其他家事

Pitt Crawley was astonished to receive such a pleasant letter from his brother Rawdon. His wife Lady Jane, a gentle, kindly woman, was delighted, and expected that Pitt would immediately divide his aunt's inheritance into two equal parts and send one to his brother.

皮特·克劳利收到他弟弟罗顿礼貌且友善的来信，感到非常意外。他的妻子简女士是个温柔善良的人，收到信她十分欢喜，希望皮特马上把他姑姑的遗产平分，一份送给他弟弟。

Pitt did not feel the need to send a cheque to Rawdon for thirty thousand pounds, but he did write back in a friendly manner, promising to help his brother and his family if he could.

皮特觉得没有必要送给罗顿一张三万英镑的支票，但他还是友好地回了信，许诺说会尽量帮助他的弟弟和家人。

Rawdon carried the letter to Becky in her bedroom -- with her cup of chocolate, which he always took to her every morning.

罗顿拿着信去贝姬的卧室，还端着一杯巧克力饮料。他每天早晨总会给她送一杯。

The brothers did not meet for some time, however. Since the death of Miss Crawley, Pitt and Lady Jane had been living down at Queen's Crawley, where Becky had gone as governess years before. Her former employer, Sir Pitt Crawley, was still alive, but even more disagreeable than he used to be, and when he finally died a few years later, none of his family felt any great sorrow.

不过，两兄弟隔了一段时间才见面。自从克劳利小姐去世后，皮特和简女士就一直在昆士克劳利居住，那里正是多年前贝姬做家庭教师的地方。她的老雇主皮特·克劳利爵士仍然健在，但是比过去更惹人厌烦了。几年后他去世时，家里人没有谁觉得悲痛。

In fact, when the black-edged invitation to the funeral arrived in Curzon Street, the reactions were very far from sorrowful.

实际上，当黑边的葬礼邀请函到达柯曾大街时，其引起的反应跟悲痛丝毫不沾边。

"Of course we're going, you silly man!" cried Becky, jumping up in delight. "Your brother is now Sir Pitt, and a Member of Parliament. I want Lady Jane to present me at court next year, and I want Sir Pitt to get you a position of some importance -- the Governor of the West Indies, or something like that. We must order our black clothes for the funeral at once."

“我们当然要去，你这个傻瓜！”贝姬喊道，高兴得跳了起来。“你哥哥现在是皮特爵士 了，还是下院议员。我想让简女士明年把我引见给王公贵族，还想让皮特爵士给你安排个重要职务——西印度群岛总督，或者其他类似职务。我们得赶快订购参加葬礼用的黑色礼服。”

"We don't have to go, do we, Becky?" he said. "Pitt bores me to death, and a carriage there and back will cost too much."

“我们不是非得去，对吧，贝姬？”他说，“皮特乏味得要命，而且一辆马车来回的花费太大了。”

"Little Rawdy comes too, of course," said her husband.

“小罗迪当然也去。”她丈夫说。

"Of course not! Why pay for a third seat in the carriage?"

“当然不去！为什么要再花一份坐票的钱呢？”

"What I should like to do first," Becky said, in a soft little voice, "is to see your dear little children."

“我想先看看你亲爱的孩子们。”贝姬温柔地说。

It was a great moment when the two Crawley brothers met again at last. The new Sir Pitt shook his brother warmly by the hand, while Lady Jane took both Becky's hands, and kissed her.

最终，克劳利两兄弟再次聚首，场面十分美好。新皮特爵士热情地同弟弟握手，简女士则拉着贝姬的双手，亲吻她。

This mark of kindness brought tears to Becky's eyes, which was a rare event. When Lady Jane took Becky to her room, Becky at once began work on earning her sister-in-law's approval.

善意的举动令贝姬热泪盈眶，这可是很罕见的。简女士带贝姬去她房间时，贝姬立刻开始施展魅力，以求赢得她妯娌的心。

This request pleased Lady Jane very much. She led Becky away to meet her daughter and son, aged four and two, and in no time at all, she and Becky were close and affectionate friends.

这个请求使简女士大为高兴。她带着贝姬去看她的女儿和儿子，他们分别是四岁和两岁。不消一会儿工夫，她和贝姬就成了亲密无间的好朋友。

"You must be so sad," Lady Jane said sympathetically, "to have left your little boy in London."

“你一定很伤心吧，”简女士同情地说，“把你的小宝贝留在伦敦。”

"Dear, dear Rawdy!" sighed Becky. "I miss him so much."

“我亲爱的，亲爱的罗迪！”贝姬叹了口气，“我太想他了。”

It was fortunate that her husband did not hear this remark as it would have surprised him greatly. He was very fond of his son. He saw Rawdy every day at home, bought him presents and toys, played with him whenever he could. His mother took no notice of the boy at all. When he cried at night, it was a servant who came and took him to her room to comfort him.

幸好她丈夫没有听到她这番话，否则一定会惊讶不已。他非常爱自己的儿子。他每天在家都要见罗迪，给他买礼物和玩具，一有机会就陪他玩。孩子的母亲则对他不闻不问。他晚上哭泣，也是一个仆人把他带到她自己的房间哄他。

Rawdon and Becky spent several days at Queen's Crawley, and it was time well spent. Lady Jane thought Becky was delightful, and Sir Pitt also approved of her. She had shown interest in his ambitions for government, and made admiring comments on his political ideas, which he had found very agreeable.

罗顿和贝姬在昆士克劳利住了几天，收获颇丰。简女士觉得贝姬讨人喜欢，皮特爵士也接受了她。她对他从政的抱负显示出兴趣，对他的政治主张表示赞赏，这很讨皮特爵士的喜欢。

"I did not like the marriage at the time," he told his wife, "but it has improved Rawdon very much."

“当初我不赞成这桩婚事。”他告诉妻子，“不过结婚让罗顿变成熟了许多。”

"It isn't difficult to be a country gentleman's wife," she said to Rawdon in the carriage returning to London. "I think I could be a good woman if I had five thousand a year."

“做个乡绅的妻子没什么难的。”在返回伦敦的马车上，她对罗顿说，“我要是一年有五千英镑，我也能当个好主妇。”

Rawdon was almost sorry to leave, but Becky was glad to escape from playing the part of a dutiful sister-in-law -- listening with interest to dull conversations, inspecting the fruit garden, visiting sick villagers with soup and encouragement.

罗顿几乎要为离开而感到遗憾，但贝姬却很高兴，因为她再也不用扮演贤弟媳的角色——要兴致勃勃地听那些无聊的谈话，视察果园，带着汤去慰问鼓励那些生病的村民。

"Mm," said Rawdon. "I wish you'd got some money out of Pitt, though. I'd like to pay the landlord some of the rent we owe. It isn't right, you know, that his family should starve because of us."

“呣。”罗顿说，“我倒希望你从皮特那里得了些钱。我想把拖欠的房租付一部分给房东。你知道，要是他一家因为我们的缘故而挨饿，这怎么说得过去。”

This Lord Steyne was one of Becky's admirers in London. High-society women still ignored her, but the men crowded to Mrs Crawley's little house, where the suppers were excellent, and the conversation brilliant. And where many of them, of course, lost money at the card-tables to Colonel Crawley.

这位斯泰恩勋爵是贝姬在伦敦的仰慕者之一。虽然上流社会的太太们仍不理睬她，但男士们却蜂拥至克劳利夫人的小家。那里的晚餐精美可口，谈话精彩有趣。当然，其中许多人在牌桌上把钱输给了克劳利上校。

"Pitt gave me this for Rawdy," Becky said. It was a cheque for a small amount. "Give it to the landlord. We've been invited to Queen's Crawley for Christmas -- perhaps Pitt will do something for you then. Or next year, when they come to London. Until then we must manage on your winnings at cards. And perhaps Lord Steyne will hear of a position for you."

“皮特给了我这个，送给罗迪的。”贝姬说。那是一张小额支票。“把这个给房东吧。我们已经受邀去昆士克劳利过圣诞节，没准儿那时皮特会为你做点什么的，或者是明年他们来伦敦的时候。在那之前，我们只能靠你在牌桌上赢来的钱过活了。也许斯泰恩勋爵会帮你打听个职位。”

Becky amused Lord Steyne. He admired her charm and her intelligence and her cunning, which he saw was equal to his own, and her artful lies gave him much entertainment. He laughed a great deal at Becky's account of her time at Queen's Crawley.

贝姬能逗斯泰恩勋爵开心。他欣赏她的魅力、智慧和狡黠，觉得和他旗鼓相当。她巧妙的谎话也给了他许多乐趣。贝姬在讲述昆士克劳利的生活时，他时常捧腹大笑。

Not Lord Steyne, however, who was no fool. He was a short, ugly man, disliked by many for his cruel tongue and his evil reputation. But he was extremely wealthy, belonged to one of the grandest families in England, and dined with the Prince of Wales. It comforted the poor landlord to see Lord Steyne's carriage outside the Crawleys' door. With such rich friends, he thought, they were sure to pay his rent one day…

然而斯泰恩勋爵不在其中，他可不傻。他个子矮小，长相丑陋，由于说话刻薄，声名狼藉，素来为人所不喜。但是他极为富有，出身英格兰最负名望的家族之一，还和威尔士亲王用过膳。可怜的房东看见斯泰恩勋爵的马车停在克劳利家门前，心中略感安慰。他想，他们有这么富有的朋友，总有一天一定会付给他房租的……

Lord Steyne laughed again. "And you, my pretty lady, were bored to tears by them all. Come now, admit it, Mrs Crawley!"

斯泰恩勋爵又笑了：“而你呢，我可爱的女士，被他们烦得要哭了吧。得了，承认吧，克劳利夫人！”

Becky gave a wicked little smile, but would admit nothing, and after taking some tea, Lord Steyne went away. On the way out he met Rawdon, and greeted him in his usual manner.

贝姬露出一丝坏笑，但什么也不肯承认。喝过茶，斯泰恩勋爵离开了。出门时他碰到了罗顿，像平时一样和他打招呼。

"They are very good people," said Becky sternly. "You should not laugh at them."

“他们是很好的人。”贝姬严肃地说，“你不应该嘲笑他们。”

"I should like to see you visiting the sick," he said, "and being polite to those dull relations of your husband's."

“我想看看你怎么探望病人，”他说，“怎么彬彬有礼地对待你丈夫那些乏味的亲戚的。”

"Some gentlemen are coming tonight who would bore you," she would say. "I only invite them because they have influence and can help you. And now I have a companion, there's no need for you to be here."

“一些绅士今晚过来，他们会让你感到无聊。”她会这么说，“我邀请他们，是因为他们有权势能帮到你。现在我有女伴了，你就没必要待在这儿了。”

Rawdon was still very fond of his wife. He admired her brilliance and her clever conversation, and obeyed her orders without question. But he had few interests apart from gambling and horses, and was glad whenever Becky released him from his social duties and sent him off to dine with his friends.

罗顿仍然深爱着他的妻子。他爱慕她的才华、她机灵的言谈，按她说的行事，从不质疑。但是除了赌博和骑马，他没什么其他兴趣。每当贝姬不要求他社交应酬，让他和自己的朋友吃饭，他就很高兴。

"How is Mrs Crawley's husband?" he would say, and indeed, in London that is what Rawdon had become. He was Colonel Crawley no more; he was Mrs Crawley's husband.

他问：“克劳利夫人的丈夫好吗？”的确，在伦敦这就是罗顿的称呼。他不再是克劳利上校了，他是克劳利夫人的丈夫。

The companion was Miss Briggs, who had been companion to Rawdon's aunt until that lady died. Becky, hearing that Miss Briggs had inherited some money from Miss Crawley, had invited her to Curzon Street as her companion. Miss Briggs's friends warned her against the Crawleys, but Miss Briggs went to live with Mrs Rawdon the next week, and had lent Rawdon Crawley six hundred pounds before six months were over.

这位女伴是布里格斯小姐，一直陪伴罗顿的姑姑直到她去世。贝姬听说布里格斯小姐从克劳利小姐那里继承了一些钱，就邀请她来柯曾大街陪伴自己。布里格斯小姐的朋友们警告她小心克劳利夫妇，但她一周后就和罗顿夫人住在了一起。不到半年，她就已经借给罗顿·克劳利六百英镑了。

For two years she had hardly spoken to him. She disliked him, and he bored her. One day, attracted by the sound of his mother's voice singing, he came quietly downstairs. The drawing-room door opened suddenly and revealed the boy standing there, listening in delight to the music.

两年了她很少和他说话。她不喜欢他，觉得他烦。一天，他被母亲唱歌的声音吸引，悄悄地走下楼。客厅的门突然开了，大家发现小男孩正站在那里，满心欢喜地听着音乐。

Her presence in the house made it possible for Becky to receive gentlemen visitors when her husband was not at home, and although Lord Steyne often growled at her "watch-dog", as he called Miss Briggs, Becky only laughed.

布里格斯小姐的存在使得贝姬可以在罗顿外出时也接待男士访客了。尽管斯泰恩勋爵经常冲她的“看门狗”（他如此称呼布里格斯小姐）大吼，但贝姬也只是笑笑。

"It isn't because it hurts," he said, crying bitterly, "but why can't I listen to her singing? She sings to that bald-headed man with the big teeth. Why doesn't she sing to me?"

“我哭不是因为疼。”他伤心地哭着说，“为什么我不能听她唱歌？她给那个长着大板牙的秃顶男人唱歌。她为什么不给我唱？”

His mother came out and struck him violently on the ear. He heard a laugh from Lord Steyne inside the room (who was amused by this display of Becky's bad temper), and he ran away, down to his friends the servants in the kitchen.

他母亲走出来，狠狠地打了他一耳光。他听到客厅里斯泰恩勋爵一声大笑（勋爵觉得贝姬发脾气很有意思），然后就跑开了，去楼下厨房找他的仆人朋友们。

Miss Briggs also helped to look after little Rawdon. He was now seven years old, a fine, strong boy, with a gentle nature, fond of everyone who was good to him, especially Miss Briggs and his father. He no longer thought of his mother in that way.

布里格斯小姐还帮忙照看小罗顿。他现在七岁了，相貌清秀，身体健壮，性情温和，对他好的人他都喜欢，尤其是布里格斯小姐和他的父亲。他再也不认为母亲待他好了。

"He's the finest boy in England," he said, "but you don't seem to love him as much as you do your little dog. He won't bother you much. He'll be with the other children all the time, and on the journey he can ride outside on the coach with me."

“他是英格兰最棒的男孩子。”罗顿说，“但是你似乎爱他还没爱你的小狗那么多。他不会怎么打扰你的。到那里后，他会一直和其他孩子在一起。在路上，他可以和我一起坐在车厢外面。”

When Christmas came and the visit to Queen's Crawley, Becky wanted to leave the child behind, but Lady Jane insisted that he came too. Rawdon complained at Becky's neglect of their son.

圣诞到了，该去昆士克劳利拜访，贝姬想把孩子留下，但是简女士坚持让她带着孩子一起去。罗顿抱怨贝姬不在意孩子。

From that day Becky hated her son. And the boy began to feel fear and doubt. He knew that this man was his enemy. Whenever they met, Lord Steyne would make some nasty remark, and in return, the child would stare hard at him and put his hands up as though to fight him.

从那天起，贝姬讨厌她的儿子。男孩开始疑惧不安。他明白那个男人是他的敌人。只要他们一碰面，斯泰恩勋爵都会说些难听话，而孩子就死死地盯着他，举起手，摆出一副要和他打架的样子。

"You only sit outside on the coach so you can smoke those awful cigars," said Becky.

“你坐在外面就是为了抽你的臭雪茄罢了。”贝姬说。

His wife laughed. "That was before we were married," she said.

他的妻子笑了。“那是在我们结婚之前。”她说。

"You always used to like the smell of cigars," Rawdon said.

“你过去一直都喜欢雪茄味的。”罗顿说。

So little Rawdon accompanied them to Queen's Crawley, and he loved every minute. When they arrived, Sir Pitt and Lady Jane and their children were there to welcome them in the hall, and the little girl, Matilda, shyly kissed Rawdy on the cheek.

就这样，小罗顿和他们一道去了昆士克劳利，他享受在那里的每分每秒。他们到时，皮特爵士、简女士和孩子们在大厅里迎接他们，小女孩玛蒂尔达羞涩地亲吻了罗迪的面颊。

The children were soon firm friends, with Rawdy, who was the oldest, the leader in all their games. He also loved going with his father to the stables, or helping in the hunt for rats in the farm buildings. But best of all, he loved his Aunt Jane, who was so kind to him. He even allowed her to kiss him sometimes. In the evenings, after dinner, when the ladies went to the drawing-room and left the gentlemen to drink their wine, he always preferred to sit near his Aunt Jane, rather than his mother.

孩子们很快就成了好朋友，他们中罗迪年纪最大，在所有的游戏中都是带头人。他也喜欢陪父亲去马厩，或者帮忙在农舍里捉老鼠。但他最喜欢的还是简伯母，她对他好极了。他有时甚至允许简伯母吻他。吃过晚饭后，女士们起身去客厅，留下男士们喝葡萄酒，这时候他总是愿意坐在简伯母身边，而不是母亲身旁。

After that day Lady Jane and Becky were never quite so friendly. There was a coolness in the air, and Lady Jane began to feel that her husband was paying Becky too much attention. They spent hours in his study, discussing his political ambitions and plans -- subjects that Sir Pitt never mentioned to his wife.

打那天起，简女士和贝姬的关系就没有那么友好了。两人之间气氛冷淡，简女士开始觉得她丈夫对贝姬过分关注了。他们在书房里一待就是好几个小时，讨论他的政治抱负和愿景，而这些话题皮特爵士从来没向妻子提起过。

He looked her full in the face after the kiss, trembling and turning very red. "You never kiss me at home, mama," he said.

亲吻结束后，他直视着她的脸，浑身颤抖，满脸通红。“你在家从来不吻我，妈妈。”他说。

One evening when there were guests, Becky, having noticed that Lady Jane and the other ladies were in the habit of kissing their children, called her son over to her and kissed him.

一天晚上，有客来访，贝姬注意到简女士和其他女士都有亲吻自己孩子的习惯，于是她把儿子叫到身边也吻了他。

An embarrassed silence fell in the room, and there was a rather unpleasant look in Becky's eyes.

房间里陷入一阵尴尬的沉默。贝姬的眼神颇显不悦。

While Becky was busily making new friends and new enemies, her former friend Amelia found her social circle was shrinking. Dobbin had gone to India, and her brother Joseph had returned to his job there soon after the Battle of Waterloo. Perhaps he had been afraid that his terrified flight from Brussels might be talked about and laughed at. However, he made an allowance to his parents of a hundred and twenty pounds a year, paid monthly through his London agent.

在贝姬忙于结交新朋友、树立新敌人之时，她以前的朋友阿梅莉亚发现自己的社交圈子越来越小了。多宾去了印度，她哥哥约瑟夫在滑铁卢战役后不久也回到那里工作。或许，他担心自己仓皇逃离布鲁塞尔的事可能会被人议论和耻笑。尽管如此，他每年给父母补贴一百二十英镑，通过他在伦敦的经纪人按月支付。

Rawdon had become fond of his sister-in-law because she was so kind to his son, and when the holiday was over, both he and his son were sad to leave. The ladies, however, said goodbye to each other with less sadness. Becky was keen to return to the bright lights of London. She was bored with the country and bored with the sweet and gentle Lady Jane, though of course she was careful not to reveal this, as she needed Lady Jane to present her at court. She was determined to climb the social ladder as high as she could, determined to show those proud, stiff-necked society women that she, Rebecca Sharp, daughter of a drawing-teacher, could outshine them all in social brilliance.

罗顿渐渐喜欢上他的大嫂，因为她对他的儿子很好。假期结束时，父子俩都舍不得离开。然而，两位女士道别就没有那么伤感了。贝姬渴望回到伦敦的灯火辉煌之中。她厌倦了乡下，也厌倦了温柔甜美的简女士。当然了，她很小心没有将厌倦之情显露出来，因为她需要简女士引见她入宫。她下定决心要尽她所能往上爬，让那些傲慢的、死心眼的贵妇们知道：她，丽贝卡·夏普，一名绘画教师的女儿，在任何社交场合上都能让她们黯然失色。

Amelia seized the baby out of her mother's arms, then grabbed the bottle of medicine and sent it crashing into the fireplace.

阿梅莉亚从她母亲怀里夺过孩子，然后抓起药瓶，扔到壁炉里砸碎了。

Mr Sedley borrowed money to try to recover his lost fortune, but his attempts to start new businesses became more and more foolish, and he lost the money he had borrowed. Amelia had a small widow's pension, and with Joseph's money, the little family had just enough to live on.

塞德利先生借钱试图赚回失去的财富，但是他的新生意越做越差，最后连借的钱也赔光了。阿梅莉亚有一小笔遗孀抚恤金，加上约瑟夫的钱，这一家人只能勉强度日。

Amelia's whole life was centred on her son Georgy. She was extremely possessive about him, and wanted to do everything for him herself. Once, when Georgy was still a baby, she came into her room and found her mother giving the child a spoonful of Daffy's Special Baby Medicine.

阿梅莉亚的生活重心全都放在她的儿子乔基身上。她对儿子的占有欲极强，事事都想亲力亲为。有一次，乔基还是个小宝宝时，她走进房间，见到她母亲正在给孩子喂一勺达菲牌特效婴儿药水。

"Very good; you think I'm a murderess," said Mrs Sedley. "I have met with misfortunes; I have sunk low in life; but I did not know I was a murderess before, and thank you for the news."

“好啊，你觉得我是个杀人犯。”塞德利夫人说，“我遭遇了诸多不幸，我的生活也一落千丈，但我还不知道自己竟是个杀人犯，多谢你告诉我这个新闻。”

"Georgy shall not have any medicine unless the doctor approves of it. And he told me that Daffy's was poison."

“除非医生许可，否则乔基什么药都不能吃。医生告诉我，达菲牌的药是毒药。”

"I will not have my baby poisoned, mama!" she cried.

“我不 会让别人给我的孩子下毒，妈妈！”她大声喊。

"Poisoned, Amelia?" said the old lady. "What are you saying?"

“下毒，阿梅莉亚？”老夫人问，“你在说什么啊？”

"Oh no, my love, -- only that I was a murderess. Though I didn't poison you when you were a child. A murderess, indeed! May God forgive you, you wicked, ungrateful girl!"

“不，不，我亲爱的孩子——你只不过说我是个杀人犯。你还是小孩子的时候，我倒是没有毒死你。一个杀人犯，哈！愿上帝宽恕你，你这个不知感恩的坏姑娘！”

"Oh, mama," said the poor girl, "I didn't mean --"

“唉，妈妈。”可怜的姑娘说，“我不是这个意思——”

After this, there was a coolness between mother and daughter that never really went away. Mrs Sedley had little to do with her grandson and was frequently critical of her daughter.

母女之间从此变得生疏了，一直都没有好转。塞德利夫人几乎不管她的外孙，而且频频指责她的女儿。

Georgy grew up to look very like his father, and Amelia spoke to him constantly of her love for her dead husband, whose picture hung on the wall above her bed, and was cleaned daily.

乔基长大后很像他的父亲，阿梅莉亚常常向他说起她对亡夫的爱。她把丈夫的画像挂在床前的墙上，每天都擦拭一番。

Amelia was not without admirers in her little social circle. She was not brilliant, nor clever, nor wise, nor very pretty, but men were always charmed by her. Perhaps it was her weakness and her sweet nature that made men want to protect her. But it was certain that young Mr Linton, the doctor's assistant, was her willing slave. He sat up through the night with Georgy during his childhood illnesses, and would call in at any time, without a fee, if Mrs Osborne was at all worried about her darling boy.

阿梅莉亚在她的小社交圈里并非没有仰慕者。她并不才华出众，也不聪明伶俐，更非貌美如花，但男人们总是被她迷住。也许正是她柔弱甜美的气质让男人想保护她。不过可以确定的是，年轻的医生助理林顿先生心甘情愿当她的奴隶。乔基年幼得病时，他通宵守在身边。但凡奥斯本夫人有一丁点担心她可爱的孩子，他都会随时应召前来，而且不收费用。

"It's quite obvious," Mrs Sedley remarked to the landlady, "that Major Dobbin is in love with her, but whenever I mention the fact, she begins to cry, and goes and sits upstairs with her little picture of George. I'm sick of that picture. I wish we'd never seen those horrid, proud Osbornes."

“事情相当明显。”塞德利夫人对房东太太说，“多宾少校爱上她了，但是每次我跟她提起这件事，她就开始哭，然后就上楼守着她那张乔治的画像呆坐着。我烦死那张画像了。我希望我们从来都没遇见过那些令人讨厌又自大的奥斯本家人。”

Amelia kept her promise to Dobbin and wrote to him two or three times a year -- letters all about little Georgy. Dobbin was delighted to receive these letters, and always replied. He sent many gifts too -- beautiful Indian shawls for Amelia and her mother, wonderful carved wooden animals for Georgy.

阿梅莉亚遵守对多宾的承诺，每年给他写两三封信，信里写的全是小乔基的事。多宾收到信很高兴，而且总会回复。他也寄去很多礼物——给阿梅莉亚和她母亲的漂亮印度披肩，给乔基的精致木雕动物。

Dobbin's letters continued to take a close interest in Georgy, asking about his reading and writing, wanting to know if he was going to school, and offering to help with the fees.

多宾的来信继续密切关注着乔基，询问他读书和写字的情况，想知道他要不要去上学，提出愿意帮助出学费。

Georgy grew up surrounded by love, ruling the little world around him, including his gentle mother, whom he loved with a passionate affection. Everyone was amazed at how like his father he was -- the same face, the same hair, even the same pride.

乔基在爱的包围中长大，统治着身边的小小世界，其中包括了他温柔的母亲，他对她尤为热爱。人们不禁诧异，他长得太像他父亲了——同样的脸庞，同样的头发，甚至连骄矜都是一样的。

"Oh!" said Amelia. She was very, ver y happy indeed. But her eyes seemed a little damp, and she was strangely silent for the rest of the day -- though she was very happy indeed at the news.

“噢！”阿梅莉亚说。她的确非常 开心。可是她的眼睛似乎有些湿润，那天后来的时间里她也表现得异常沉默——尽管她得知那个消息确实非常开心。

Sometimes his sister, Miss Dobbin (no doubt on her brother's instructions), came to visit Amelia and Georgy; and sometimes she begged that the boy might spend a day with her at home. Unwillingly, Amelia agreed to this, but Georgy loved his days at Miss Dobbin's home, where there was a wonderful garden to play in, and wonderful fruit to eat from the hot-houses.

有时他的妹妹多宾小姐（无疑是在他的指示下）来看望阿梅莉亚和乔基，有时她恳求让乔基去她家待一天。尽管不情愿，阿梅莉亚还是同意了，不过乔基很喜欢在多宾小姐家里的日子。她家有一个很漂亮的花园，可以在里面玩耍，温室里还有很美味的水果可以吃。

"Oh, no," his sister replied. "Not at all. But I have very good reason to believe that dear William is about to be married -- to a most lovely girl, everybody says."

“啊，不。”他妹妹回答，“不是的。但是我有充足的理由相信，亲爱的威廉要结婚了——和一个非常可爱的女孩，大家都这么说。”

One day Miss Dobbin arrived with some very interesting news about her brother William that she was sure would delight Amelia.

一天，多宾小姐来访，带来了某个有关她哥哥威廉的新闻，十分 有意思，她肯 定 阿梅莉亚听了后会很高兴的。

"Is he coming home?" Amelia asked, looking pleased.

“他要回来了吗？”阿梅莉亚问，看上去很开心。