狄更斯雙語小說:《董貝父子》第37章Part1

Florence, Edith, and Mrs Skewton were together next day, and the carriage was waiting at the door to take them out. For Cleopatra had her galley again now, and Withers, no longer the-wan, stood upright in a pigeon-breasted jacket and military trousers, behind her wheel-less chair at dinner-time and butted no more. The hair of Withers was radiant with pomatum, in these days of down, and he wore kid gloves and smelt of the water of Cologne.
They were assembled in Cleopatra's room The Serpent of old Nile (not to mention her disrespectfully) was reposing on her sofa, sipping her morning chocolate at three o'clock in the afternoon, and Flowers the Maid was fastening on her youthful cuffs and frills, and performing a kind of private coronation ceremony on her, with a peach-coloured velvet bonnet; the artificial roses in which nodded to uncommon advantage, as the palsy trifled with them, like a breeze.
'I think I am a little nervous this morning, Flowers,' said Mrs Skewton. 'My hand quite shakes.'
'You were the life of the party last night, Ma'am, you know,' returned Flowers, ' and you suffer for it, to-day, you see.'
Edith, who had beckoned Florence to the window, and was looking out, with her back turned on the toilet of her esteemed mother, suddenly withdrew from it, as if it had lightened.
'My darling child,' cried Cleopatra, languidly, 'you are not nervous? Don't tell me, my dear Edith, that you, so enviably self-possessed, are beginning to be a martyr too, like your unfortunately constituted mother! Withers, someone at the door.'
'Card, Ma'am,' said Withers, taking it towards Mrs Dombey.
'I am going out,' she said without looking at it.

第二天，弗洛倫斯、伊迪絲和斯丘頓夫人在一起坐着，馬車在門口等待着把她們拉到外面去遊逛。因爲現在克利奧佩特拉又有了她的單層甲板大帆船了；威瑟斯不再臉無血色；他穿着鴿胸式的短上衣和軍褲，在就餐的時間筆挺地站在她的沒有輪子的椅子的後面，不再用頭去頂它了；在這些輕鬆愉快的日子裏，威瑟斯的頭髮塗了香脂，閃閃發亮；他戴着小山羊皮的手套，身上散發出花露水的香氣。
他們聚集在克利奧佩特拉的房間裏。古老的尼羅河的蛇（這麼說並不是對她不尊敬）在她的沙發上安息，下午三點還在一點一點地喝着她早晨的巧克力飲料，侍女弗勞爾斯正在繫緊她那少女般衣衫的袖口和縐邊，並私下裏給她舉行了一個加冕典禮，在她頭上戴上一頂桃紅色的絲絨帽子；當麻痹症像微風一樣跟帽子上的假玫瑰鬧着玩兒的時候，這些花朵就非常可愛地搖晃着。古老的尼羅河的蛇：指克利奧佩特拉。莎士比亞所著戲劇《安東尼與克利奧佩特拉》第一幕第五場：克利奧佩特拉： 他（指馬克?安東尼）現在說話了，也許他在低聲微語， 我那古老的尼羅河的蛇呢？ 因爲他是這樣稱呼我的。 ”
“今天早上我覺得有些神經過敏，弗勞爾斯，”斯丘頓夫人說道，”我的手顫抖得厲害。”
“您是昨天夜晚慶祝會上的重要人物，夫人，”弗勞爾斯回答道，”您看，今天您就受不了啦。”
伊迪絲原先把弗洛倫斯叫到窗口，正望着外面，背對着她尊敬的母親的梳妝檯，這時彷彿窗子閃過電光似的，她突然離開了窗子。
“我親愛的孩子，”克利奧佩特拉沒精打采地說道，”你不神經過敏嗎？別告訴我，我親愛的伊迪絲，你雖然這麼鎮靜自若，令人羨慕，但像你身體不幸多病的母親一樣，也開始成爲一個長期忍受痛苦的人了！威瑟斯，有人敲門。”
“名片，夫人，”威瑟斯把名片遞給董貝夫人，說道。
“我要出去，”她對名片看也不看一眼，說道。