(雙語)月亮和六便士 第16章

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Chapter 16

第十六章

What followed showed that Mrs. Strickland was a woman of character. Whatever anguish she suffered she concealed. She saw shrewdly that the world is quickly bored by the recital of misfortune, and willingly avoids the sight of distress. Whenever she went out—and compassion for her misadventure made her friends eager to entertain her—she bore a demeanour that was perfect. She was brave, but not too obviously; cheerful, but not brazenly; and she seemed more anxious to listen to the troubles of others than to discuss her own. Whenever she spoke of her husband it was with pity. Her attitude towards him at first perplexed me. One day she said to me:

以后發(fā)生的事說明思特里克蘭德太太是一個(gè)性格堅(jiān)強(qiáng)的女人。不論她心里委屈多大，她都沒有顯露出來。她很聰明，知道老是訴說自己的不幸，人們很快就會(huì)厭煩，總是擺著一副可憐相也不會(huì)討人喜歡。每逢她外出作客的時(shí)候——因?yàn)橥樗脑庥?，很多朋友有意地邀請她——，她的舉止總是十分得體。她表現(xiàn)得很勇敢，但又不露骨；高高興興，但又不惹人生厭；她好象更愿意聽別人訴說自己的煩惱而不想議論她自己的不幸。每逢談到自己丈夫的時(shí)候，她總是表示很可憐他。她對他的這種態(tài)度最初使我感到困惑。有一天她對我說：

You know, I'm convinced you were mistaken about Charles being alone. From what I've been able to gather from certain sources that I can't tell you, I know that he didn't leave England by himself.

“你知道，你告訴我說查理斯一個(gè)人在巴黎，你肯定是弄錯(cuò)了。根據(jù)我聽到的消息——我不能告訴你這消息的來源——，我知道他不是獨(dú)自離開英國的。”

In that case he has a positive genius for covering up his tracks.

“要是這樣的話，他真可以說是不露行跡，簡直是個(gè)天才了?！?/p>

She looked away and slightly coloured.

思特里克蘭德太太的目光避開了我，臉有些發(fā)紅。

What I mean is, if anyone talks to you about it, please don't contradict it if they say he eloped with somebody. Of course not.

“我的意思是說，如果有人同你談?wù)撨@件事，要是說他是同哪個(gè)女人私奔的話，你用不著辯駁。”“當(dāng)然我不辯駁。”

She changed the conversation as though it were a matter to which she attached no importance. I discovered presently that a peculiar story was circulating among her friends. They said that Charles Strickland had become infatuated with a French dancer, whom he had first seen in the ballet at the Empire, and had accompanied her to Paris. I could not find out how this had arisen, but, singularly enough, it created much sympathy for Mrs. Strickland, and at the same time gave her not a little prestige. This was not without its use in the calling which she had decided to follow. Colonel MacAndrew had not exaggerated when he said she would be penniless, and it was necessary for her to earn her own living as quickly as she could. She made up her mind to profit by her acquaintance with so many writers, and without loss of time began to learn shorthand and typewriting. Her education made it likely that she would be a typist more efficient than the average, and her story made her claims appealing. Her friends promised to send her work, and took care to recommend her to all theirs.

她改換了話題，好象剛才說的是一件無關(guān)緊要的小事。不久我就發(fā)現(xiàn)，在她的朋友中間流傳著一個(gè)奇怪的故事。她們說查理斯·思特里克蘭德迷戀上一個(gè)法國女舞蹈家，他是在帝國大劇院看芭蕾舞首次見到這個(gè)女人的，后來就同她一起去巴黎了。我無法知道這個(gè)故事怎么會(huì)流傳起來，但是奇怪的是，它為思特里克蘭德太太賺得了人們不少同情，同時(shí)也使她的名望增加了不少。這對她決定今后從事的行業(yè)很有一些好處。麥克安德魯上校當(dāng)初說她手頭分文不名并沒有夸大。她需要盡快地找一條謀生之道。她決定利用一下她認(rèn)識不少作家這一有利地位，一點(diǎn)兒沒耽擱時(shí)間就開始學(xué)起速記和打字來。她受的教育會(huì)使她從事這一行業(yè)高于一般打字人員，她的遭遇也能為她招徠不少主顧。朋友們都答應(yīng)給她拿活兒來，而且還要盡心把她推薦給各自的相識。

The MacAndrews, who were childless and in easy circumstances, arranged to undertake the care of the children, and Mrs. Strickland had only herself to provide for. She let her flat and sold her furniture. She settled in two tiny rooms in Westminster, and faced the world anew. She was so efficient that it was certain she would make a success of the adventure.

麥克安德魯夫婦沒有子女，生活條件又很優(yōu)裕，就擔(dān)當(dāng)下?lián)狃B(yǎng)著她子女的事，思特里克蘭德太太只需要維持自己一個(gè)人的生活就夠了。她把住房租了出去，賣掉了家具，在威斯敏斯特附近找了兩間小房安置下來。她重新把生活安排好。她非常能干，她決心興辦的這個(gè)買賣一定會(huì)成功的。