| Chapter V During the summer I met Mrs. Strickland not infrequently. I went now and then to pleasant little luncheons at her flat, and to rather more formidable tea-parties. We took a fancy to one another. I was very young, and perhaps she liked the idea of guiding my virgin steps on the hard road of letters; while for me it was pleasant to have someone I could go to with my small troubles, certain of an attentive ear and reasonable counsel. Mrs. Strickland had the gift of sympathy. It is a charming faculty, but one often abused by those who are conscious of its possession: for there is something ghoulish in the avidity with which they will pounce upon the misfortune of their friends so that they may exercise their dexterity. It gushes forth like an oil-well, and the sympathetic pour out their sympathy with an abandon that is sometimes embarrassing to their victims. There are bosoms on which so many tears have been shed that I cannot bedew them with mine. Mrs. Strickland used her advantage with tact. You felt that you obliged her by accepting her sympathy. When, in the enthusiasm of my youth, I remarked on this to Rose Waterford, she said: "Milk is very nice, especially with a drop of brandy in it, but the domestic cow is only too glad to be rid of it. A swollen udder is very uncomfortable." | 第五章 那年夏天，我同司太太见面次数并不算少。隔三差五我就到她的公寓参加各种午餐会，规模小巧，气氛融洽，同时我也出席了一些更令人难招架的茶会。我和司太太两情相悦。当时我很年轻，或许她心生善念，想要引导我这个少不更事的毛头小伙子，一步步走上文学这条坎坷之路；对我而言，遇到麻烦琐事可以找人诉说一番，何尝不是件乐事，她一定会全神贯注地听我讲述，而且还会给我提一些合理建议。司太太天生富有同情心。这本是一种诱人的才干，但却往往被人滥用，而滥用之人明知自己拥有这种才干。他们迫不及待地扑向朋友所遭受的噩运，以便施展自己的绝技妙招，这种急切心情中难免有些令人毛骨悚然的东西。这就好比一口汩汩喷涌的油井，毫无节制地抛洒同情心，反而有时会令受害者感到尴尬难堪。别人胸前已经是泪洒衣衫，我怎好意思用自己的眼泪再把人家的衣衫湿透？司太太把自己的特长发挥得老练自如，你会感觉为了讨她欢心，心甘情愿接受她的同情。我仗着年轻人的热情冲动，曾向沃玫瑰就这件事发表过我的看法，她说道： “牛奶固然好喝，尤其加上一滴白兰地酒味道更佳。但奶牛巴不得赶快将身上的牛奶甩掉。奶头肿胀会让奶牛很不爽快。” |
| Rose Waterford had a blistering tongue. No one could say such bitter things; on the other hand, no one could do more charming ones. There was another thing I liked in Mrs. Strickland. She managed her surroundings with elegance. Her flat was always neat and cheerful, gay with flowers, and the chintzes in the drawing-room, notwithstanding their severe design, were bright and pretty. The meals in the artistic little dining-room were pleasant; the table looked nice, the two maids were trim and comely; the food was well cooked. It was impossible not to see that Mrs. Strickland was an excellent housekeeper. And you felt sure that she was an admirable mother. There were photographs in the drawing-room of her son and daughter. The son—his name was Robert—was a boy of sixteen at Rugby; and you saw him in flannels and a cricket cap, and again in a tail-coat and a stand-up collar. He had his mother's candid brow and fine, reflective eyes. He looked clean, healthy, and normal. | 沃玫瑰言辞激烈，舌不饶人。这种刻薄的话语，除了她谁也说不出口；另一方面，谁也没有她能把各种事情做得令人心醉神迷。 我喜欢司太太还因为另外一件事。她把她的家居环境经营得优雅别致。屋子总是收拾得整齐利落，室内摆放着各种花卉，令人感到赏心悦目。客厅里的印花布窗帘虽然图案朴素，可色彩鲜艳，漂亮大方。餐厅小巧玲珑，颇有艺术气息，在此用餐会令人胃口大开；餐桌款式精美，两位女仆端庄秀气；饭菜烹调得美味可口。谁都看得出，司太太是位百里挑一的优秀家庭主妇。你不会怀疑她同时也是一位令人钦佩的母亲。客厅里摆放着一双儿女的照片。儿子名叫若伯——十六岁，在若格贝学校读书；照片中的他穿着一套法兰绒衣服，头戴板球帽，另一张照片中他穿的是燕尾服，系着立领。他长得随他母亲，额头宽大，坦率诚恳，眼眸明亮，闪着光芒。他看起来干净整洁，身体健康，而且神智正常。 |
| "I don't know that he's very clever," she said one day, when I was looking at the photograph, "but I know he's good. He has a charming character." The daughter was fourteen. Her hair, thick and dark like her mother's, fell over her shoulders in fine profusion, and she had the same kindly expression and sedate, untroubled eyes. "They're both of them the image of you," I said. "Yes; I think they are more like me than their father." "Why have you never let me meet him?" I asked. "Would you like to?" She smiled, her smile was really very sweet, and she blushed a little; it was singular that a woman of that age should flush so readily. Perhaps her naivete was her greatest charm. "You know, he's not at all literary," she said. "He's a perfect philistine." She said this not disparagingly, but affectionately rather, as though, by acknowledging the worst about him, she wished to protect him from the aspersions of her friends. "He's on the Stock Exchange, and he's a typical broker. I think he'd bore you to death." "Does he bore you?" I asked. "You see, I happen to be his wife. I'm very fond of him." She smiled to cover her shyness, and I fancied she had a fear that I would make the sort of gibe that such a confession could hardly have failed to elicit from Rose Waterford. She hesitated a little. Her eyes grew tender. "He doesn't pretend to be a genius. He doesn't even make much money on the Stock Exchange. But he's awfully good and kind." "I think I should like him very much." "I'll ask you to dine with us quietly some time, but mind, you come at your own risk; don't blame me if you have a very dull evening." | “我想我儿子不算很聪明，”有一天我正在司太太家看着照片时，她说道，“但我知道他心地善良，性格讨人喜欢。” 她女儿十四岁，头发和母亲的一样，又密又黑，满头秀发垂到双肩。面相和善可亲，一双眸子安静端庄、无忧无虑，简直和她母亲从同一个模子中刻出来一般。 “他俩长得都像你，”我说道。 “是啊，和他俩的父亲相比，他俩更像我。” “你为啥一直不让我见你丈夫？” “你愿意见他吗？” 她笑了，她笑起来真地很甜，只见她面带娇羞，脸上泛起一丝红晕；这个年纪的妇人如此容易脸红，这实属罕见。也许天真质朴正是她最大的魅力。 “我跟你说，他一点都不通文墨，”她说道，“他就是个不折不扣的小市民。” 她用这样的口吻形容自己的丈夫，一点看不出有贬低的意思，相反倒是显出体贴疼爱之意，好像承认了自己丈夫的最糟之处，就可以保护他，以免受到她的朋友们讽刺挖苦。 “他在伦敦股票交易所工作，是个标准的经纪人。我想你一定会觉得他无聊透顶。” “你会觉得他无聊吗？” “你听我给你说，我恰好嫁给了他，我钟爱他。” 她面带微笑，以便掩饰自己的羞涩表情。我想象着她害怕我会说句奚落她的话，要是把我换成沃玫瑰，这种大实话很难不从她嘴里说出来。她犹豫了一下，两眼开始变得更柔情似水了。 “他不会装模作样说自己是个天才。他甚至在股票交易所没赚多少钱。但他心地非常善良。” “我想我应该非常喜欢他。” “改天没其他客人时，我悄悄请你和我们共进晚餐。但我得把话先撂这儿，你愿意冒这个险你就来，到了那天晚上，你来赴约，要是觉得无聊，可别怪我。” |
