狄更斯雙語小說:《董貝父子》第21章Part 1

The MAJOR, more blue-faced and staring - more over-ripe, as it were, than ever - and giving vent, every now and then, to one of the horse's coughs, not so much of necessity as in a spontaneous explosion of importance, walked arm-in-arm with Mr Dombey up the sunny side of the way, with his cheeks swelling over his tight stock, his legs majestically wide apart, and his great head wagging from side to side, as if he were remonstrating within himself for being such a captivating object. They had not walked many yards, before the Major encountered somebody he knew, nor many yards farther before the Major encountered somebody else he knew, but he merely shook his fingers at them as he passed, and led Mr Dombey on: pointing out the localities as they went, and enlivening the walk with any current scandal suggested by them.
In this manner the Major and Mr Dombey were walking arm-in-arm, much to their own satisfaction, when they beheld advancing towards them, a wheeled chair, in which a lady was seated, indolently steering her carriage by a kind of rudder in front, while it was propelled by some unseen power in the rear. Although the lady was not young, she was very blooming in the face - quite rosy- and her dress and attitude were perfectly juvenile. Walking by the side of the chair, and carrying her gossamer parasol with a proud and weary air, as if so great an effort must be soon abandoned and the parasol dropped, sauntered a much younger lady, very handsome, very haughty, very wilful, who tossed her head and drooped her eyelids, as though, if there were anything in all the world worth looking into, save a mirror, it certainly was not the earth or sky.
'Why, what the devil have we here, Sir!' cried the Major, stopping as this little cavalcade drew near.
'My dearest Edith!' drawled the lady in the chair, 'Major Bagstock!'
The Major no sooner heard the voice, than he relinquished Mr Dombey's arm, darted forward, took the hand of the lady in the chair and pressed it to his lips. With no less gallantry, the Major folded both his gloves upon his heart, and bowed low to the other lady. And now, the chair having stopped, the motive power became visible in the shape of a flushed page pushing behind, who seemed to have in part outgrown and in part out-pushed his strength, for when he stood upright he was tall, and wan, and thin, and his plight appeared the more forlorn from his having injured the shape of his hat, by butting at the carriage with his head to urge it forward, as is sometimes done by elephants in Oriental countries.
'Joe Bagstock,' said the Major to both ladies, 'is a proud and happy man for the rest of his life.'
'You false creature! said the old lady in the chair, insipidly. 'Where do you come from? I can't bear you.'
'Then suffer old Joe to present a friend, Ma'am,' said the Major, promptly, 'as a reason for being tolerated. Mr Dombey, Mrs Skewton.' The lady in the chair was gracious. 'Mr Dombey, Mrs Granger.' The lady with the parasol was faintly conscious of Mr Dombey's taking off his hat, and bowing low. 'I am delighted, Sir,' said the Major, 'to have this opportunity.'
The Major seemed in earnest, for he looked at all the three, and leered in his ugliest manner.
'Mrs Skewton, Dombey,' said the Major, 'makes havoc in the heart of old Josh.'
Mr Dombey signified that he didn't wonder at it.
'You perfidious goblin,' said the lady in the chair, 'have done! How long have you been here, bad man?'
'One day,' replied the Major.
'And can you be a day, or even a minute,' returned the lady, slightly settling her false curls and false eyebrows with her fan, and showing her false teeth, set off by her false complexion, 'in the garden of what's-its-name
'Eden, I suppose, Mama,' interrupted the younger lady, scornfully.
'My dear Edith,' said the other, 'I cannot help it. I never can remember those frightful names - without having your whole Soul and Being inspired by the sight of Nature; by the perfume,' said Mrs Skewton, rustling a handkerchief that was faint and sickly with essences, 'of her artless breath, you creature!'
The discrepancy between Mrs Skewton's fresh enthusiasm of words, and forlornly faded manner, was hardly less observable than that between her age, which was about seventy, and her dress, which would have been youthful for twenty-seven. Her attitude in the wheeled chair (which she never varied) was one in which she had been taken in a barouche, some fifty years before, by a then fashionable artist who had appended to his published sketch the name of Cleopatra: in consequence of a discovery made by the critics of the time, that it bore an exact resemblance to that Princess as she reclined on board her galley. Mrs Skewton was a beauty then, and bucks threw wine-glasses over their heads by dozens in her honour. The beauty and the barouche had both passed away, but she still preserved the attitude, and for this reason expressly, maintained the wheeled chair and the butting page: there being nothing whatever, except the attitude, to prevent her from walking.
'Mr Dombey is devoted to Nature, I trust?' said Mrs Skewton, settling her diamond brooch. And by the way, she chiefly lived upon the reputation of some diamonds, and her family connexions.

少校和董貝先生手挽着手，沿着街道上曬到陽光的一邊走去；少校的臉色更加發青，眼睛鼓得更加凸出--好像比過去成熟得更過度了--，並不時發出一聲馬的咳嗽般的聲音，這與其說是出於必要，倒還不如說是本能地要裝出自尊自大的神氣；他的臉頰漲鼓鼓地懸垂在緊繃繃的衣領上，兩隻腿威風凜凜地跨得很開，大大的頭從一邊搖晃到另一邊，彷彿在心裏責備自己爲什麼要成爲這樣有魅力的人物。他們沒有走好多碼遠，少校遇到了一位熟人；沒有再走幾碼遠，他又遇到了另一位熟人；但是他走過的時候，只是向他們揮動一下手指頭，就繼續領着董貝先生向前走；一路上向他指點名勝地點，並講一些使他聯想起來的奇聞怪事，使散步增添生趣。
當少校和董貝先生這樣手挽着手、洋洋自得地向前走着的時候，他們看到前面一個輪椅正向他們移動過來；椅子裏坐着一位夫人正懶洋洋地操縱着前面的舵輪，駕駛着她的車子，後面則由一種看不見的力量推着。這位夫人雖然並不年輕，但面容卻很嬌豔--十分紅潤--，她的服裝和姿態也完全跟妙齡女郎一樣。一位年輕得多的女士在輪椅旁邊悠閒地走着；她露出一種高傲而疲倦的神色，舉着一把薄紗洋傘，彷彿必須立即放棄這個十分偉大的努力，讓洋傘掉下去似的；她很美麗，很傲慢，很任性；她高昂着頭，低垂着眼皮，彷彿世界上除了鏡子之外，如果有什麼值得觀看的東西，那麼它肯定不是地面或天空。
“哎呀，我們遇見什麼魔鬼啦，先生！”當這一小隊人馬走近的時候，少校停下腳步，喊道。
“我最親愛的伊迪絲！”輪椅中的夫人慢聲慢氣地說道，”白格斯托克少校！”
少校一聽到這個聲音，就放下董貝先生的胳膊，向前奔去，然後拉起椅子中的夫人的手，緊貼着他的嘴脣。少校以同樣殷勤的態度，把兩隻戴着手套的手在胸前合攏，向另一位女士深深地鞠躬。現在，輪椅停下來了，原動力也顯露出來了；那是一位滿臉漲得通紅的童僕，就是他在後面推着輪椅的；他似乎因爲個子長得過大，又過分用力，所以當他挺直站立起來的時候，他看去高大、消瘦、臉無血色。由於他像東方國家的大象那樣用頭頂着車子推動它前進，因此他的帽子的形狀也被損壞了，這就使他的境況顯得更加悲慘可憐。
“喬•白格斯托克，”少校向兩位女士說道，”在他這一生的其餘日子裏是個自豪和幸福的人。”
“你這個虛僞的東西！”椅子裏的夫人有氣無力地說道，”你從那裏來？我不能容忍你。”
“那麼，請允許老喬向您介紹一位朋友吧，夫人，”少校立即說道，”希望這能成爲得到您寬恕的理由。董貝先生，斯丘頓夫人。”椅子中的夫人和藹親切，彬彬有禮。“董貝先生，格蘭傑夫人。”拿陽傘的女士略略注意了一下董貝先生脫下帽子和深深地鞠躬。”我真高興能有這樣的機會，先生。”少校說道。
少校似乎是認真的，因爲他看着所有三個人，並以他最醜惡的神態把眼睛溜來溜去。
“董貝，”少校說道，”斯丘頓夫人蹂躪了老喬希的心。”
董貝先生表示他對這並不驚奇。
“你這背信棄義的惡鬼，”椅子中的夫人說道，”什麼也別說了！你到這裏有多久了，壞人？”
“一天，”少校回答道。
“難道你能在這裏待上一天或哪怕是一分鐘，”那位夫人接着說道，一邊用扇子輕輕地整了整她的假捲髮和假眉毛，露出了被她的假容顏襯托得格外清楚的假牙齒。”在這--叫什麼的園中--”
“我想是伊甸園吧，媽媽，”年輕的女士輕蔑地打斷道。
“我最親愛的伊迪絲，”另一位說道，”我沒有辦法。我永遠也記不住這些可怕的名字--難道你能在這伊甸園中待上一天，哪怕是一分鐘而沒有讓你整個靈魂和整個人受到大自然的壯觀的鼓舞嗎？又難道能使它不被大自然那純潔的呼吸的芳香所鼓舞嗎？你這個東西！”斯丘頓夫人說道，一邊沙沙作聲地揮着一塊手絹，散發出悶人的、令人慾嘔的香氣。
斯丘頓夫人活潑熱情的語言與她那衰弱無力的聲調那麼不相配，就跟她的年齡--大約七十歲--與她的服裝--二十七歲的人穿起來也顯得年輕--不相配一樣令人注目。她坐在輪椅中的姿態（她從不改變這個姿態），正是大約五十年前她坐在雙馬四輪大馬車中、由當時一位風靡一時的畫家畫下的姿態；這幅肖像畫發表的時候他還給加上一個名字：克利奧佩特拉，這是由於當時的評論家們發現她和這位女王斜倚在單層甲板大帆船時的風貌維妙維肖的緣故。斯丘頓夫人當時是一位美人，花花公子們幾十次舉杯向她致敬。現在美貌和雙馬四輪大馬車全都不再存在了，但她依舊保持着這個姿態，而且特別由於這個原因，還依舊保留了那個輪椅並僱傭了那個用頭推車的童僕；除了這個姿態外，沒有任何其他原因妨礙她走路。
“我相信，董貝先生是熱愛大自然的吧？”斯丘頓夫人整整她的鑽石胸針，說道。這裏順便說一句，她主要是依靠她有一些鑽石的名聲和她的家族關係過日子的。