狄更斯雙語小說:《董貝父子》第27章Part 07

Mr Carker cantered behind the carriage. at the distance of a hundred yards or so, and watched it, during all the ride, as if he were a cat, indeed, and its four occupants, mice. Whether he looked to one side of the road, or to the other - over distant landscape, with its smooth undulations, wind-mills, corn, grass, bean fields, wild-flowers, farm-yards, hayricks, and the spire among the wood - or upwards in the sunny air, where butterflies were sporting round his head, and birds were pouring out their songs - or downward, where the shadows of the branches interlaced, and made a trembling carpet on the road - or onward, where the overhanging trees formed aisles and arches, dim with the softened light that steeped through leaves - one corner of his eye was ever on the formal head of Mr Dombey, addressed towards him, and the feather in the bonnet, drooping so neglectfully and scornfully between them; much as he had seen the haughty eyelids droop; not least so, when the face met that now fronting it. Once, and once only, did his wary glance release these objects; and that was, when a leap over a low hedge, and a gallop across a field, enabled him to anticipate the carriage coming by the road, and to be standing ready, at the journey's end, to hand the ladies out. Then, and but then, he met her glance for an instant in her first surprise; but when he touched her, in alighting, with his soft white hand, it overlooked him altogether as before.
Mrs Skewton was bent on taking charge of Mr Carker herself, and showing him the beauties of the Castle. She was determined to have his arm, and the Major's too. It would do that incorrigible creature: who was the most barbarous infidel in point of poetry: good to be in such company. This chance arrangement left Mr Dombey at liberty to escort Edith: which he did: stalking before them through the apartments with a gentlemanly solemnity.
'Those darling byegone times, Mr Carker,' said Cleopatra, 'with their delicious fortresses, and their dear old dungeons, and their delightful places of torture, and their romantic vengeances, and their picturesque assaults and sieges, and everything that makes life truly charming! How dreadfully we have degenerated!'
'Yes, we have fallen off deplorably,' said Mr Carker.
The peculiarity of their conversation was, that Mrs Skewton, in spite of her ecstasies, and Mr Carker, in spite of his urbanity, were both intent on watching Mr Dombey and Edith. With all their conversational endowments, they spoke somewhat distractedly, and at random, in consequence.
'We have no Faith left, positively,' said Mrs Skewton, advancing her shrivelled ear; for Mr Dombey was saying something to Edith. 'We have no Faith in the dear old Barons, who were the most delightful creatures - or in the dear old Priests, who were the most warlike of men - or even in the days of that inestimable Queen Bess, upon the wall there, which were so extremely golden. Dear creature! She was all Heart And that charming father of hers! I hope you dote on Harry the Eighth!'
'I admire him very much,' said Carker.

卡克先生與馬車相距一百碼左右，在後面讓馬慢跑着；在整個行程中他一直在注視着馬車，彷彿他真的是隻貓，馬車裏的四位乘客是耗子似的。不論他是看着道路的這一邊還是看着那一邊，——是看着遠方的風景：波浪般起伏的丘岡、風車、穀物、青草、豆田、野花、農場、乾草堆、樹林上空的尖塔，——還是向上看着陽光燦爛的天空：蝴蝶正在他頭的四周翩翩飛舞，鳥兒正在鳴唱着歌曲，——還是向下看着樹枝的陰影相互交錯，在路上形成了一條搖搖晃晃的地毯，——還是直看着前面：懸垂的樹木形成了長廊和拱門，只有從樹葉縫中滲透進來一點微弱的光線，因而陰暗不明，——不論他向哪裏看，他的一隻眼角總是一直注視着朝向他的董貝先生的拘板的頭，注視着在他們中間旁若無人、目空一切地低垂着的女帽上的羽毛，那高傲的神態就跟他不久前他看到她低垂着眼皮時的神態一模一樣，也跟她面對着現在坐在對面的人時的神態絲毫不差。有一次，也只有那一次，他留神的眼光離開了這些注視的對象；當時他跳過一道低矮的樹籬，越過田野奔馳，以便能趕過馬車，搶先站在旅途終點，把夫人們攙扶出來。那時，僅僅在那時，當她起初表示出驚訝時，他在瞬刻間碰到了她的眼光；但是當他用柔嫩的白手接她下車時，她跟先前一樣，假裝根本沒有看見他。
斯丘頓夫人堅決要由她本人來照顧卡克先生，並向他指點城堡的美景。她決心要由他的胳膊挽着她，也由少校的胳膊挽着她走。對於那位不可救藥的人物，那位在詩的領域中最不開化的野蠻人來說，他處在這樣的伴侶中間是能得到益處的。這個偶然的安排使董貝先生可以隨意護送伊迪絲。他也就這樣做了。他以一個上流社會人士莊嚴的風度，高視闊步地在他們前面穿過城堡的各個宮殿。
“這些以往的歲月是多麼美妙啊，卡克先生，”克利奧佩特拉說道，“這些雄偉壯麗的堡壘，這些可愛古老的地牢，這些有趣的拷問室，還有那情節離奇的復仇，美麗如畫的襲擊與圍攻，以及所有使生活真正可愛的東西！我們現在已經墮落得多麼可怕啊！”
“對，我們已經可悲地退化了，”卡克先生說道。
他們的談話有一個特點，就是：斯丘頓夫人儘管大喜若狂，卡克先生儘管文雅有禮，他們兩人卻全都專心致志地注視着董貝先生和伊迪絲。雖然他們都善於交談，但他們卻都有些心不在焉，結果都是信口開河，東拉西扯。
“我們已完全失去了信仰，”斯丘頓夫人說道，一邊把她的滿是皺紋的耳朵向前湊近一些，因爲董貝先生正在對伊迪絲說什麼，“我們已失去對那些親愛的老男爵的信仰，他們是最討人喜歡的人物；我們也失去了對那些親愛的老教士的信仰，他們是最好戰的人們；甚至我們也已失去了對難以估價的女王貝斯 的時代的信仰——她就在那裏的牆上——，那真是多麼可貴的黃金時代啊！親愛的人兒，她充滿了善良的心意！還有她那可愛的父親，我希望您非常喜愛哈里八世 吧！”
“我十分欽佩他，”卡克說道。