雙語小說連載:《董貝父子》第五章 Part 1

Paul's Progress and Christening
Little Paul, suffering no contamination from the blood of the Toodles, grew stouter and stronger every day. Every day, too, he was more and more ardently cherished by Miss Tox, whose devotion was so far appreciated by Mr Dombey that he began to regard her as a woman of great natural good sense, whose feelings did her credit and deserved encouragement. He was so lavish of this condescension, that he not only bowed to her, in a particular manner, on several occasions, but even entrusted such stately recognitions of her to his sister as 'pray tell your friend, Louisa, that she is very good,' or 'mention to Miss Tox, Louisa, that I am obliged to her;'specialities which made a deep impression on the lady thus distinguished.

小保羅從圖德爾的血液中沒有受到污染，每天長得愈來愈結實，愈來愈強壯。托克斯小姐每天也愈來愈熱心地愛護他；董貝先生對她的忠誠十分讚賞，開始把她看作是一位天性善良、十分明白事理的女人；她的感情爲她增光，應當得到鼓勵。他不惜紆尊降貴，向她充分表示好感。不僅好幾次特別有禮地向她鞠躬，甚至還通過她的妹妹鄭重地轉達他對她的謝意。“請告訴你的朋友，路易莎，她很好，”或者“請跟托克斯小姐說，路易莎，我謝謝她。”他對這位女士這樣刮目相看，這給她留下了深刻的印象。

Whether Miss Tox conceived that having been selected by the Fates to welcome the little Dombey before he was born, in Kirby, Beard and Kirby's Best Mixed Pins, it therefore naturally devolved upon her to greet him with all other forms of welcome in all other early stages of his existence - or whether her overflowing goodness induced her to volunteer into the domestic militia as a substitute in some sort for his deceased Mama or whether she was conscious of any other motives - are questions which in this stage of the Firm's history herself only could have solved. Nor have they much bearing on the fact (of which there is no doubt), that Miss Tox's constancy and zeal were a heavy discouragement to Richards, who lost flesh hourly under her patronage, and was in some danger of being superintended to Tox was often in the habit of assuring Mrs Chick, that nothing could exceed her interest in all connected with the development of that sweet child;' and an observer of Miss Tox's proceedings might have inferred so much without declaratory confirmation. She would preside over the innocent repasts of the young heir, with ineffable satisfaction, almost with an air of joint proprietorship with Richards in the entertainment. At the little ceremonies of the bath and toilette, she assisted with enthusiasm. The administration of infantine doses of physic awakened all the active sympathy of her character; and being on one occasion secreted in a cupboard (whither she had fled in modesty), when Mr Dombey was introduced into the nursery by his sister, to behold his son, in the course of preparation for bed, taking a short walk uphill over Richards's gown, in a short and airy linen jacket, Miss Tox was so transported beyond the ignorant present as to be unable to refrain from crying out, 'Is he not beautiful Mr Dombey! Is he not a Cupid, Sir!' and then almost sinking behind the closet door with confusion and blushes.

托克斯小姐時常讓奇剋夫人放心，對她說，跟那位可愛的嬰孩的發育成長有關的一切事情，是她最感興趣的，沒有什麼能超過它的了。她這樣講，已經成了一種習慣。觀察托克斯小姐活動的人不需要取得確鑿肯定的證詞就可以得出同樣的結論。她會懷着難以形容的滿意心情主持這位年輕繼承人的天真的用餐，那副神態就幾乎像在這個款待中她跟理查茲共同享有所有權似的。在洗澡與穿着打扮這些小小的活動中，她熱情地進行幫助。給孩子服用藥物，喚起了她生性具有的強烈的同情心。有一次董貝先生被他的妹妹領到育兒室裏來看他的兒子；托克斯小姐由於謙虛，急忙跑到一個碗櫃裏去躲避；這時候孩子正準備睡覺，穿着一件輕薄的亞麻短上衣，沿着理查茲的長外衣向上短時間地爬了一會兒；托克斯小姐在毫無所知的客人背後欣喜若狂，忍不住喊道，“他不是很漂亮嗎，董貝先生，他不就是個丘比德①嗎，先生？”然後神情慌亂，滿臉通紅，在櫃子的門後幾乎都要倒下去了。

註釋：entrust vt. 委託，信託
例句：
1. Entrust his drawing to the care to us.
把他的畫委託給我們照顧。
2. Can I entrust you with the secret plans?
我能把這些祕密計劃委託給你嗎？
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①丘比德（Cupid）：羅馬神話中的愛神，他的形象是一個背生雙翼、手持弓箭的美童；因此，美麗的兒童或美少年常被稱爲丘比德。

'Louisa,' said Mr Dombey, one day, to his sister, 'I really think I must present your friend with some little token, on the occasion of Paul's christening. She has exerted herself so warmly in the child's behalf from the first, and seems to understand her position so thoroughly (a very rare merit in this world, I am sorry to say), that it would really be agreeable to me to notice her.'Let it be no detraction from the merits of Miss Tox, to hint that in Mr Dombey's eyes, as in some others that occasionally see the light, they only achieved that mighty piece of knowledge, the understanding of their own position, who showed a fitting reverence for his. It was not so much their merit that they knew themselves, as that they knew him, and bowed low before him.

我們在這裏並不是想要貶損托克斯小姐的美德，但需要提一下，在董貝先生的眼中——就像在那些有時能體察事理的其他人的眼中一樣——，只有對他的地位表示適當尊敬的人，才能稱得上具有明白自己身份的那份非凡的理解力。他們瞭解自己的美德並不比他們瞭解他在他面前卑躬屈節的美德更爲重要。

'My dear Paul,' returned his sister, 'you do Miss Tox but justice, as a man of your penetration was sure, I knew, to do. I believe if there are three words in the English language for which she has a respect amounting almost to veneration, those words are, Dombey and Son.'

“我親愛的保羅，”他的妹妹回答道，“你對待托克斯小姐完全公道；我知道，像你這樣洞察一切的人一定會這樣做。我相信，在我國的語言中，如有四個字她尊敬得幾乎達到了崇拜的地步的話，那麼這四個字就是董貝父子。”

'Well,' said Mr Dombey, 'I believe it. It does Miss Tox credit.'
“唔，”董貝先生說道，“我相信這一點。這會給托克斯小姐增光。”
'And as to anything in the shape of a token, my dear Paul,' pursued his sister, 'all I can say is that anything you give Miss Tox will be hoarded and prized, I am sure, like a relic. But there is a way, my dear Paul, of showing your sense of Miss Tox's friendliness in a still more flattering and acceptable manner, if you should be so inclined.'

“至於說到紀念品，我親愛的保羅，”他的妹妹繼續說道，“我只想說一句話，就是，你給托克斯小姐不論什麼東西，我相信她都會把它當作聖物一樣珍視和收藏起來的。不過，親愛的保羅，如果你願意的話，那麼你還可以用一種更使她高興、更使她滿意的方式來表示你對托克斯小姐的友好情誼的謝意。”

註釋：penetration n. 滲透；突破；侵入；洞察力
例句：
1. He writes with penetration.
他寫的文章尖銳深刻。
2. Resistant to penetration by water but not entirely waterproof.
抗水的能抵抗水的滲透但不完全防水的

'How is that?' asked Mr Dombey.
'Godfathers, of course,' continued Mrs Chick, 'are important in point of connexion and influence.'
'I don't know why they should be, to my son, said Mr Dombey, coldly.

“什麼方式？”董貝先生問道。
“就關係與影響來說，”奇剋夫人繼續說道，“選擇教父自然是重要的。”
“我不知道爲什麼他們對我的兒子是重要的，”董貝先生冷若冰霜地說道。

'Very true, my dear Paul,' retorted Mrs Chick, with an extraordinary show of animation, to cover the suddenness of her conversion; 'and spoken like yourself. I might have expected nothing else from you. I might have known that such would have been your opinion. Perhaps;' here Mrs Chick faltered again, as not quite comfortably feeling her way; 'perhaps that is a reason why you might have the less objection to allowing Miss Tox to be godmother to the dear thing, if it were only as deputy and proxy for someone else. That it would be received as a great honour and distinction, Paul, I need not say.

“完全正確，我親愛的保羅，”奇剋夫人回答道；爲了掩蓋她突然改變主意，她就顯示出異乎尋常的活潑；“這正是你應該說的。我原來就料想你不會說別的。我原先就知道這就是你的意見。”奇剋夫人這時又奉承起來，一邊沒有很大把握地摸索着前進；“也許正因爲這樣，如果讓托克斯小姐僅僅作爲其他什麼人的代表和替身，來充當可愛的孩子的教母，那麼你可能是不會反對的。不用說，保羅，她將會把這看作是極爲體面、極爲光榮的事情來接受的。”

'Louisa,' said Mr Dombey, after a short pause, 'it is not to be supposed - '
'Certainly not,' cried Mrs Chick, hastening to anticipate a refusal, 'I never thought it was.'Mr Dombey looked at her impatiently.
'Don't flurry me, my dear Paul,' said his sister; 'for that destroys me. I am far from strong. I have not been quite myself, since poor dear Fanny departed.'

“路易莎，”董貝先生沉默了一會兒，說道，“不應該認爲——”
“當然不應該，”奇剋夫人急忙防止會遭到拒絕，“我從來不曾認爲那是應該的。”
董貝先生不耐煩地看着她。
“別把我的心攪亂了，我親愛的保羅，”他的妹妹說道，“因爲這會毀了我。我的身體很不好。自從可憐的親愛的範妮離開我們以後，我就一直覺得不舒服。”

Mr Dombey glanced at the pocket-handkerchief which his sister applied to her eyes, and resumed:
'It is not be supposed, I say 'And I say,' murmured Mrs Chick, 'that I never thought it was.'
'Good Heaven, Louisa!' said Mr Dombey.

董貝先生向他妹妹掏出來擦眼淚的手絹看了一眼，繼續說道：
“我說，不應該認爲。”
“我說，”奇剋夫人嘟噥着說道，“我從來不曾想過那是應該的。”
“我的天，路易莎！”董貝先生說道。

註釋：connexion n. 連接，聯繫（等於connection）
例句：
1. There is no connexion between them.
他們無關係。
2. She deprecated the connexion in every light.
她從各方面表示不贊成這門親事。

'No, my dear Paul,' she remonstrated with tearful dignity, 'I must really be allowed to speak. I am not so clever, or so reasoning, or so eloquent, or so anything, as you are. I know that very well. So much the worse for me. But if they were the last words I had to utter - and last words should be very solemn to you and me, Paul, after poor dear Fanny - I would still say I never thought it was. And what is more,' added Mrs Chick with increased dignity, as if she had withheld her crushing argument until now, 'I never did think it was.' Mr Dombey walked to the window and back again.

“不，我親愛的保羅，”她眼淚汪汪、尊嚴地抗辯道，“你確實應當允許我說話。我不像你那麼聰明，那麼能推理，那麼能言善辯，等等。這一點我很明白。對我來說，這就更糟。可是如果我必須說最後幾句話的話——保羅，在可憐的親愛的範妮逝世以後，這最後幾句話對你和我都必須是很莊嚴的——，我仍然要說，我從來不曾認爲那是應該的。而且，”奇剋夫人以愈益尊嚴的語氣補充說道，彷彿她直到現在才把她最能把別人駁得一敗塗地、無言以對的論據拿出來似的。“我·確·實從來不曾想過那是應該的。”
董貝先生走到窗子前面，又走回來。

'It is not to be supposed, Louisa,' he said (Mrs Chick had nailed her colours to the mast, and repeated 'I know it isn't,' but he took no notice of it), 'but that there are many persons who, supposing that I recognised any claim at all in such a case, have a claim upon me superior to Miss Tox's. But I do not. I recognise no such thing. Paul and myself will be able, when the time comes, to hold our own - the House, in other words, will be able to hold its own, and maintain its own, and hand down its own of itself, and without any such common-place aids. The kind of foreign help which people usually seek for their children, I can afford to despise; being above it, I hope. So that Paul's infancy and childhood pass away well, and I see him becoming qualified without waste of time for the career on which he is destined to enter, I am satisfied. He will make what powerful friends he pleases in after-life, when he is actively maintaining - and extending, if that is possible - the dignity and credit of the Firm. Until then, I am enough for him, perhaps, and all in all. I have no wish that people should step in between us. I would much rather show my sense of the obliging conduct of a deserving person like your friend. Therefore let it be so; and your husband and myself will do well enough for the other sponsors, I daresay.'

“不應該認爲，路易莎，”他說道（奇剋夫人堅持到底，決不服，不斷重複說道，“我知道不應該”，但是他沒有理會），“沒有好多人以爲，誰擔任了教父教母，我就會承認他（她）對我有什麼權利，因此他們就會比托克斯小姐對我提出更多的權利。可是我不承認這種權利。我不承認任何這類事情。當時間到來的時候，保羅和我本人將有能力保持我們自己的財產；換句話說，公司將有能力保持它自己的財產，維護它自己的財產，把它的財產傳給後代，並不需要任何這類平凡無奇的幫助。人們通常爲他們的子女尋求那一類不相干的幫助，我卻能夠蔑視它；因爲我希望我超越它。因此當保羅順利地度過他的嬰兒時代與孩童時代，當我看到他沒有虛度光陰，將能勝任·他預定要擔當的事業的時候，我就將稱心滿意了。他在以後的生涯中，當他積極地維護着公司的尊嚴與榮譽，並且，如果可能的話，加以擴展的時候，他將會結交他願意結交的有權有勢的朋友。在那時候來到之前，對他來說，也許有我就已經足夠了，而且我就是他的一切。總而言之，我不希望有什麼人介入我們之間。我寧願向一位像你的朋友那樣值得感謝的人表示我對她的勞務的謝意。因此，就讓這件事這樣辦吧，我想，你的丈夫與我本人來充當教父，我們將會當得很好。”

註釋：remonstrate vt. 責備，告誡；抗議；表示異議
vi. 抗議，反對；進諫；告誡
例句：
1. I don't remonstrate, I simply answer you.
我沒有反對，我只是回答你的話。
2. Miss Temple seemed to remonstrate.
譚波爾小姐似乎在抗議。