狄更斯雙語小說:《董貝父子》第56章Part2
'About what, Susan?' inquired Florence, timidly.
'Oh about Lieutenant Walters, and Captain Gills, and you my dear Miss Floy, and the silent tomb,' said Susan.
'The silent tomb!' repeated Florence.
'He says,' here Susan burst into a violent hysterical laugh, 'that he'll go down into it now immediately and quite comfortable, but bless your heart my dear Miss Floy he won't, he's a great deal too happy in seeing other people happy for that, he may not be a Solomon,' pursued the Nipper, with her usual volubility, 'nor do I say he is but this I do say a less selfish human creature human nature never knew!' Miss Nipper being still hysterical, laughed immoderately after making this energetic declaration, and then informed Florence that he was waiting below to see her; which would be a rich repayment for the trouble he had had in his late expedition.
Florence entreated Susan to beg of Mr Toots as a favour that she might have the pleasure of thanking him for his kindness; and Susan, in a few moments, produced that young gentleman, still very much dishevelled in appearance, and stammering exceedingly.
'Miss Dombey,' said Mr Toots. 'To be again permitted to - to - gaze - at least, not to gaze, but - I don't exactly know what I was going to say, but it's of no consequence.
'I have to thank you so often,' returned Florence, giving him both her hands, with all her innocent gratitude beaming in her face, 'that I have no words left, and don't know how to do it.'
'Miss Dombey,' said Mr Toots, in an awful voice, 'if it was possible that you could, consistently with your angelic nature, Curse me, you would - if I may be allowed to say so - floor me infinitely less, than by these undeserved expressions of kindness Their effect upon me - is - but,' said Mr Toots, abruptly, 'this is a digression, and of no consequence at all.'
As there seemed to be no means of replying to this, but by thanking him again, Florence thanked him again.
'I could wish,' said Mr Toots, 'to take this opportunity, Miss Dombey, if I might, of entering into a word of explanation. I should have had the pleasure of - of returning with Susan at an earlier period; but, in the first place, we didn't know the name of the relation to whose house she had gone, and, in the second, as she had left that relation's and gone to another at a distance, I think that scarcely anything short of the sagacity of the Chicken, would have found her out in the time.'
Florence was sure of it.
“而且是那麼滑稽可笑！”蘇珊抽抽嗒嗒地哭泣着說道，”他跟我坐在馬車裏跟我談話，那位不值得尊敬的鬥雞則坐在車伕座位上，那時候瞧他那說話的神態和腔調！”
“他談了些什麼呢；蘇珊？”弗洛倫斯膽怯地問道。
“他談到沃爾特斯上尉，談到吉爾斯船長，還談到您我親愛的弗洛伊小姐，還有那沉默的墳墓，”蘇珊說道。
“沉默的墳墓！”弗洛倫斯重複地說道。
“他說，”這時蘇珊歇斯底里地大笑了一陣子，”他將立刻很輕鬆自在地走進沉默的墳墓，可是您放心他不會的，我親愛的弗洛伊小姐，他說那句話是表示他看到別人幸福真是太快樂了，他也許並不是所羅門，”尼珀姑娘又像往常那樣滔滔不絕地繼續說道，”我也沒有說他就是所羅門，但是我敢說世界上從來沒有見到過像他那樣不自私的人！”尼珀姑娘作了這個有力的聲明之後，仍然處於歇斯底里的狀態，毫無節制地大笑着，然後才告訴弗洛倫斯，他在樓下等着見她，這將是對他最近不辭辛苦、長途奔波的極爲豐厚的酬答。
弗洛倫斯請蘇珊去邀請圖茨先生上樓來，她將高興地對他的好意幫助表示感謝。幾分鐘之後，蘇珊就把那位年輕人帶進房間，他頭髮還是亂蓬蓬的，說起話來結巴得厲害。
“董貝小姐，”圖茨先生說道，”又承蒙您允許我--注視--至少，不是注視，不過--我不知道我要說什麼，不過這是無關緊要的。”
“我是這麼經常地感謝您，我都已經把話講完了，因此我不知道現在該講些什麼好。”弗洛倫斯向他伸出雙手，臉上露出真摯的謝意。
“董貝小姐，”圖茨先生用可怕的說道，”如果您能夠咒罵我幾句（這並不改變您那天使般的性格），那麼我反倒好受些；現在您講了這樣親切的話，可真把我難住了（如果您允許我這樣說的話）。這些話對我的影響--是--不過，”圖茨先生突然中斷話頭，說道，”我離題了，這完全是無關緊要的。”
弗洛倫斯由於除了再次謝謝他之外，似乎沒辦法回答他的話，所以就再一次謝謝他。
“董貝小姐，”圖茨先生說道，”如果可能的話，我希望趁這個機會解釋一、兩句。我本可以和蘇珊早一些回來的，可是第一，我們不知道她投奔的親戚的姓名，第二，因爲她已離開了她那位親戚的家，到另一位住在遠處的親戚那裏去了，所以我想，如果不是鬥雞聰明的話，那麼我們到現在也還不見得就能找到她呢。”
弗洛倫斯相信這一點。
