雙語(yǔ)·《刀鋒》 第三章 三

CHAPTER THREE 3
第三章 三

Isabel was married to Gray Maturin early in the June of the year after the termination of her engagement to Larry. Though Elliott hated leaving Paris at a moment when the season was at its height and he must miss a number of grand parties, his family feeling was too strong to allow him to neglect what he thought a social duty.Isabel's brothers were unable to leave their distant posts and so it behoved him to make the irksome journey to Chicago to give his niece away.Remembering that French aristocrats had gone to the guillotine in all their finery, he made a special journey to London to get himself a new morning coat, a dove-grey double-breasted waistcoat, and a silk hat.On his return to Paris he invited me to come and see them on.He was in a state of perturbation because the grey pearl he usually wore in his necktie would not make any sort of effect against the pale grey tie he had chosen as suitable to the festive occasion.I suggested his emerald-and-diamond pin.
跟拉里解除婚約后第二年的六月初，伊莎貝爾就嫁給了格雷·馬圖林。此時(shí)，巴黎的社交季節(jié)正在高潮，艾略特要參加許多場(chǎng)規(guī)模宏大的宴會(huì)，所以他一百個(gè)不愿意離開(kāi)巴黎，但由于他的家族感情異常強(qiáng)烈，容不得他忽略掉在他看來(lái)是自己分內(nèi)的職責(zé)。伊莎貝爾的兄長(zhǎng)們遠(yuǎn)在天邊，無(wú)法拋下那兒的工作回家參加婚禮，于是他只好踏上惱人的旅途，前往芝加哥為外甥女主婚了。他想起那些法國(guó)貴族都是穿著盛裝上斷頭臺(tái)的，所以特地上倫敦購(gòu)置了一套新晨禮服、一件青灰色雙排紐扣的大衣和一頂絲綢禮帽。一返回巴黎，他就把我請(qǐng)去看他試裝。他選了一條淺灰色的領(lǐng)帶，自認(rèn)為適合于婚禮上佩戴，可是再用平時(shí)的那枚珍珠別針，便不倫不類(lèi)了，這叫他很惱火。我建議他改用他那枚鑲著翡翠和鉆石的別針。

“If I were a guest-yes，”he said.“But in the particular position I shall occupy I feel that a pearl is indicated.”
“如果我只是個(gè)賓客嘛……這也就罷了，”他說(shuō)，“而我擔(dān)任主婚人的特殊責(zé)任，便感覺(jué)到珍珠有一種象征意義。”

He was much pleased with the marriage, which concorded with all his ideas of propriety, and he spoke of it with the unctuousness of a dowager duchess expressing herself on the suitability of a union between a scion of the La Rochefoucaulds with a daughter of the Montmorencys. As a visible mark of his satisfaction he was taking over as a wedding present, sparing no expense, a fine portrait by Nattier of a princess of the House of France.
他對(duì)這門(mén)親事非常滿(mǎn)意，認(rèn)為從各方面看，雙方都是門(mén)當(dāng)戶(hù)對(duì)的。一說(shuō)起來(lái)，他便眉飛色舞，就像個(gè)孀居的公爵夫人在議論拉羅什富科家族的公子跟蒙特默倫西家族的千金結(jié)下的天設(shè)地造的良緣。為了明確表示自己滿(mǎn)意的心情，他不惜重金買(mǎi)了一幅納蒂埃為法蘭西王室的一個(gè)公主畫(huà)的精美的肖像，準(zhǔn)備帶去作為結(jié)婚禮物。

It appeared that Henry Maturin had bought for the young couple a house in Astor Street so that they should be close to where Mrs. Bradley lived and not too far from his own palatial residence on Lake Shore Drive.By a happy chance, in which I suspected the deft complicity of Elliott, Gregory Brabazon was in Chicago at the time the purchase was made and the decoration was entrusted to him.When Elliott returned to Europe and, throwing in his hand so far as the season in Paris was concerned, came straight to London, he brought photographs of the result.Gregory Brabazon had let himself go.In the drawing-room he had gone all George the Second and it was very grand.In the library, which was to be Gray's den, he had been inspired by a room in the Amalienburg Palace at Munich, and except that there was no place in it for books it was perfect.Save for the twin beds, Louis Quinze visiting Madame de Pompadour would have found himself perfectly at home in the bedroom Gregory had provided for this young American couple, but Isabel's bathroom would have been an eye-opener to him；it was all glass-walls, ceiling and bath-and on the walls silver fish meandered profusely among gilded aquatic plants.
亨利·馬圖林好像給小兩口在阿斯特街買(mǎi)了一幢房子，靠近布雷德利夫人住的地方，離他自己在湖濱道的那座富麗堂皇的府邸也不太遠(yuǎn)。說(shuō)來(lái)也巧，購(gòu)置這幢房子時(shí)，格雷戈里·布拉巴宗恰好在芝加哥，房子的內(nèi)部裝飾就交給了他，而我懷疑艾略特和布拉巴宗在這件事上是串通好了的。艾略特返回歐洲時(shí)，舍棄了巴黎的社交盛宴，直接取道前往倫敦，給格雷戈里·布拉巴宗帶去一些室內(nèi)裝飾的照片作為樣本。后者放手大干了一場(chǎng)?？蛷d的裝飾完全是喬治二世時(shí)期的風(fēng)格，顯得金碧輝煌。至于書(shū)房——格雷將來(lái)的小天地，格雷戈里是靠慕尼黑的阿瑪利堡宮里一間屋子給他的啟發(fā)來(lái)進(jìn)行裝飾的，除了沒(méi)有地方放書(shū)外，可以說(shuō)無(wú)懈可擊。格雷戈里為這對(duì)年輕的美國(guó)夫婦把寢室裝飾得十分舒適（那張雙人床不算在內(nèi)），就是法王路易十五在這里幽會(huì)蓬帕杜夫人，也會(huì)覺(jué)得舒心安逸，而伊莎貝爾的浴室則會(huì)叫路易十五大開(kāi)眼界——那兒完全是玻璃世界，有玻璃墻壁、玻璃天花板、玻璃浴缸；墻根的玻璃魚(yú)缸里有銀色的小魚(yú)在金色的水草中游來(lái)游去。

“Of course it's a tiny house，”said Elliott，“but Henry told me the decoration set him back a hundred thousand dollars. A fortune to some people.”
“當(dāng)然，房子是很小的?！卑蕴卣f(shuō)道，“可是亨利告訴我，說(shuō)室內(nèi)裝修花了他十萬(wàn)塊。對(duì)普通人來(lái)說(shuō)，這可是數(shù)目很大的一筆錢(qián)?！?/p>

The ceremony was performed with such pomp as the Episcopalian church could afford.
婚禮很氣派，在圣公會(huì)教會(huì)允許的范圍內(nèi)極盡奢華。

“Not like a wedding at Notre Dame，”he told me complacently，“but for a Protestant affair it didn't lack style.”
“跟巴黎圣母院里舉行的那種婚禮有所不同，”艾略特帶著幾分自豪告訴我說(shuō)，“但就新教的婚禮來(lái)說(shuō)，卻是別具一格?！?/p>

The press had behaved very handsomely and Elliott negligently tossed the cuttings to me. He showed me photographs of Isabel, hefty but handsome in her wedding-dress, and Gray, a massive but fine figure of a man, a trifle self-conscious in his formal clothes.There was a group of the young couple with bridesmaids and another group with Mrs.Bradley in a sumptuous garment and Elliott holding his new top-hat with a grace that only he could have achieved.I asked how Mrs.Bradley was.
報(bào)紙對(duì)婚禮高調(diào)進(jìn)行了報(bào)道，艾略特剪下幾條，做出一副漫不經(jīng)意的樣子丟給我看。他還讓我看了新人的結(jié)婚照——伊莎貝爾穿著新娘服裝，有些胖，然而很漂亮；格雷是個(gè)大塊頭，但身材不錯(cuò)，穿一身結(jié)婚的禮服，顯得有點(diǎn)不自在。還有一張新婚夫婦和伴娘們的合影，一張小兩口跟布雷德利夫人、艾略特一起拍的照片——布雷德利夫人穿一件華貴的衣服；艾略特把他的新帽子拿在手里，風(fēng)度翩翩，那種高雅的勁兒簡(jiǎn)直無(wú)法比擬。我問(wèn)他布雷德利夫人的身體狀況怎樣。

“She's lost a good deal of weight and I don't like her colour, but she's pretty well. Of course the whole thing was a strain on her, but now it's all over she'll be able to rest up.”
“瘦了許多，臉色不盡如人意，但身體狀況還是挺好的。當(dāng)然，婚事叫她操盡了心，好在現(xiàn)已辦完，她總算能徹底休息休息了。”

A year later Isabel was delivered of a daughter, to whom, following the fashion of the moment, she gave the name of Joan；and after an interval of two years she had another daughter whom, following another fashion, she called Priscilla.
一年后，伊莎貝爾生了一個(gè)女兒，根據(jù)當(dāng)時(shí)流行的名字，取名叫瓊；隔了兩年，她又生了一個(gè)女兒，還是根據(jù)當(dāng)時(shí)流行的名字，取名叫普里西拉。

One of Henry Maturin's partners died and the other two under pressure soon afterwards retired, so that he entered into sole possession of the business over which he had always exercised despotic control. He realized the ambition he had long entertained and took Gray into partnership with him.The firm had never been so prosperous.
亨利·馬圖林的一個(gè)合伙人死了，另外兩個(gè)合伙人在重壓之下不久也退休了。公司原來(lái)就由著他獨(dú)斷專(zhuān)行，而今更成了他一人的天下。多年的抱負(fù)一朝實(shí)現(xiàn)。他讓兒子和他一道經(jīng)營(yíng)，公司出現(xiàn)了空前繁榮的景象。

“They're making money hand over fist, my dear fellow，”Elliott told me.“Why, Gray at the age of twenty-five is making fifty thousand a year, and that's only a beginning. The resources of America are inexhaustible.It isn't a boom, it's just the natural development of a great country.”
“他們賺錢(qián)易如反掌，老伙計(jì)?！卑蕴貙?duì)我說(shuō)道，“呵，格雷才二十五歲，一年就能賺五萬(wàn)塊。而且，這還只是開(kāi)了個(gè)頭。美國(guó)的財(cái)富是永不枯竭的。這種繁榮并非曇花一現(xiàn)，而是一個(gè)偉大國(guó)家的常態(tài)?！?/p>

His chest swelled with an unwonted patriotic fervour.
他的胸中泛起了少見(jiàn)的愛(ài)國(guó)主義熱情。

“Henry Maturin can't live for ever, high blood pressure, you know, and by the time Gray's forty he should be worth twenty million dollars. Princely, my dear fellow, princely.”
“亨利·馬圖林不可能永遠(yuǎn)活下去。要知道，他患有高血壓。格雷到了四十歲時(shí)，將坐擁兩千萬(wàn)元的資產(chǎn)。那可是富比王侯，老伙計(jì)，富比王侯呀?！?/p>

Elliott kept up a fairly regular correspondence with his sister and from time to time as the years went on passed on to me what she told him. Gray and Isabel were very happy, and the babies were sweet.They lived in a style that Elliott gladly admitted was eminently suitable；they entertained lavishly and were lavishly entertained；he told me with satisfaction that Isabel and Gray hadn't dined by themselves once in three months.Their whirl of gaiety was interrupted by the death of Mrs.Maturin, that colourless, highborn lady whom Henry Maturin had married for her connexions when he was making a place for himself in the city to which his father had come as a country bumpkin；and out of respect for her memory for a year the young couple never entertained more than six people to dinner.
艾略特和姐姐之間家書(shū)不斷。一年一年的時(shí)光悄然流逝，他時(shí)不時(shí)會(huì)把姐姐告訴他的事情講給我聽(tīng)。格雷和伊莎貝爾生活幸福，兩個(gè)孩子活潑可愛(ài)。他們一家的生活方式叫艾略特贊不絕口，說(shuō)完全合乎他們的社會(huì)地位——請(qǐng)客請(qǐng)得風(fēng)風(fēng)光光，別人請(qǐng)他們也排場(chǎng)闊氣。艾略特非常滿(mǎn)意地告訴我，說(shuō)他們?nèi)齻€(gè)月里單獨(dú)吃飯吃不上一次。后來(lái)，由于馬圖林夫人的離世，這種快活的日子戛然而止。亨利·馬圖林當(dāng)初娶那位面無(wú)血色、高顴骨的女人，是想利用她的社會(huì)關(guān)系，好在芝加哥有一席之地，因?yàn)樗赣H是農(nóng)村來(lái)的鄉(xiāng)巴佬，指望不上。為了紀(jì)念馬圖林夫人，小兩口兒有一年的工夫，請(qǐng)客吃飯一次頂多只請(qǐng)六個(gè)人。

“I've always said that eight was the perfect number，”said Elliott, determined to look on the bright side of things.“It's intimate enough to permit of general conversation and yet large enough to give the impression of a party.”
“我一直認(rèn)為請(qǐng)客請(qǐng)八個(gè)人最為合適?！卑蕴乜磫?wèn)題看的是樂(lè)觀的一面，于是這樣說(shuō)道，“八個(gè)人氣氛融和，利于交談，同時(shí)給人的印象是夠得上宴會(huì)的規(guī)模。”

Gray was wonderfully generous to his wife. On the birth of their first child he gave her a square-cut diamond ring and on the birth of her second a sable coat.He was too busy to leave Chicago much, but such holidays as he could take they spent at Henry Maturin's imposing house at Marvin.Henry could deny nothing to the son whom he adored and one Christmas gave him a plantation in South Carolina so that he could get a fortnight's duck-shooting in the season.
格雷對(duì)妻子慷慨得出奇，生第一胎時(shí)，送給她一枚四面都經(jīng)過(guò)打磨的鉆石戒指，生第二胎，贈(zèng)給她的是一件紫貂皮大衣。由于太忙，他很少離開(kāi)芝加哥。中間如果能休息幾天，他們?nèi)揖蜁?huì)到亨利·馬圖林在馬文的那幢豪宅里度假。亨利愛(ài)兒子，有求必應(yīng)。一次過(guò)圣誕節(jié)的時(shí)候，他把在南卡羅來(lái)納州買(mǎi)的一處農(nóng)場(chǎng)送給了兒子——這樣兒子可以在狩獵季節(jié)到那兒去打兩個(gè)星期的野鴨子。

“Of course our merchant princes correspond to those great patrons of the arts of the Italian Renaissance who made fortunes by commerce. The Medici, for instance.Two kings of France were not too proud to marry the daughters of that illustrious family and I foresee the day when the crowned heads of Europe will seek the hands of our dollar princesses.What was it Shelley said?‘The world's great age begins anew, the golden years return.'”
“當(dāng)然，我們的商業(yè)巨頭跟意大利文藝復(fù)興時(shí)期靠商業(yè)發(fā)財(cái)?shù)哪切﹤ゴ蟮乃囆g(shù)贊助人很相似。就拿美第奇家族來(lái)說(shuō)吧——甚至就連法國(guó)的兩個(gè)國(guó)王也放下身段跟這個(gè)顯赫家族的千金聯(lián)姻?？梢灶A(yù)見(jiàn)，總有一天，歐洲的君主會(huì)跑到美國(guó)來(lái)，向這個(gè)金元帝國(guó)的公主求婚的。正如詩(shī)人雪萊所說(shuō)：‘世界的偉大時(shí)代重又降臨，黃金的歲月回來(lái)了?！?/p>

Henry Maturin had for many years looked after Mrs. Bradley's and Elliott's investments and they had a well-justified confidence in his acumen.He had never countenanced speculation and had put their money into sound securities, but with the great increase in values they found their comparatively modest fortunes increased in a manner that both surprised and delighted them.Elliott told me that, without stirring a finger, he was nearly twice as rich in 1926 as he had been in 1918.He was sixty-five, his hair was grey, his face lined, and there were pouches under his eyes, but he bore his years gallantly；he was as slim and held himself as erectly as ever；he had always been moderate in his habits and taken care of his appearance.He had no intention of submitting to the ravages of time so long as he could have his clothes made by the best tailor in London, his hair dressed and his face shaved by his own particular barber, and a masseur to come in every morning to keep his elegant body in perfect condition.He had long forgotten that he had ever so far demeaned himself as to engage in a trade, and without ever saying so outright, for he was not so stupid as to tell a lie that might be found out, he was inclined to suggest that in his youth he had been in the diplomatic service.I must admit that if I had ever had occasion to draw a portrait of an ambassador I should without hesitation have chosen Elliott as my model.
多年來(lái)，布雷德利夫人和艾略特的投資都交給亨利·馬圖林打理，姐弟倆對(duì)他的眼光深信不疑。亨利從不冒風(fēng)險(xiǎn)搞投機(jī)，而是將他們的錢(qián)都放在可靠的股票上。由于股票的價(jià)值大漲，他們的投資也水漲船高，小小的幾筆錢(qián)增加了許多，讓他們又驚又喜。艾略特告訴我，說(shuō)他連一根手指頭都沒(méi)有動(dòng)，一九一八年投進(jìn)去的錢(qián)，至一九二六年便幾乎翻了一倍。他已經(jīng)六十五歲，兩鬢霜染，臉上有皺紋，眼睛下面出現(xiàn)了眼袋，但他沒(méi)有向歲月屈服，仍保持著身材瘦削、腰桿筆挺。他歷來(lái)都很注意自己的生活習(xí)慣，注意自己的外表。只要能夠有倫敦最好的裁縫給他做衣服，有自己的特約理發(fā)師為他理發(fā)修面，有按摩師天天早晨上門(mén)按摩，使他的優(yōu)美體形保持良好的狀態(tài)，他就絕不會(huì)任由時(shí)光擺弄自己。他早已欣然淡忘自己已淪落于商賈之流，而傾向于暗示自己年輕時(shí)曾在外交界供職，不過(guò)他從不把話說(shuō)得很明白，因?yàn)樗⒉挥薮?，不?huì)就這一點(diǎn)撒謊，免得日后被人戳穿。我得承認(rèn)，如果我有機(jī)會(huì)描寫(xiě)一位大使的話，我會(huì)毫不遲疑地選艾略特做我的模本。

But things were changing. Such of the great ladies who had advanced Elliott's career as were still alive were well along in years.The English peeresses, having lost their lords, had been forced to surrender their mansions to daughters-in-law, and had retired to villas at Cheltenham or to modest houses in Regent's Park.Stafford House was turned into a museum, Curzon House became the seat of an organization, Devonshire House was for sale.The yacht on which Elliott had been in the habit of staying at Cowes had passed into other hands.The fashionable persons who occupied the stage had no use for the elderly man that Elliott now was.They found him tiresome and ridiculous.They were still willing to come to his elaborate luncheon parties at Claridge's but he was quick-witted enough to know that they came to meet one another rather than to see him.He could no longer pick and choose among the invitations that once had littered his writing-table, and much more often than he would have liked anyone to know he suffered the humiliation of dining by himself in the privacy of his suite.Women of rank in England, when a scandal has closed the doors of society to them, develop an interest in the arts and surround themselves with painters, writers and musicians.Elliott was too proud thus to humiliate himself.
但是，世道在變。當(dāng)初對(duì)艾略特有提攜之恩的顯貴女性，有些仍活著，卻年事已高。那些英國(guó)的貴族夫人，在她們的爵爺去世后，只得把府邸讓給媳婦，自己住進(jìn)切爾滕納姆的別墅或者攝政公園里的普通房屋。斯塔福德府邸改造成了博物館，柯曾宅院成了一個(gè)機(jī)構(gòu)的辦事處，德文郡的衙門(mén)如今在出售。艾略特在考斯時(shí)經(jīng)常乘坐的那艘游艇已轉(zhuǎn)手他人。眼下唱主角的那些弄潮兒覺(jué)得艾略特老兒已成了無(wú)用的廢物，認(rèn)為他是個(gè)荒唐可笑的老厭物。他們?nèi)耘f愿意參加他在克拉里奇酒店舉辦的盛大午宴，但艾略特眼光敏銳，看得出他們來(lái)赴宴，只是想彼此見(jiàn)見(jiàn)面，而非來(lái)看望他。過(guò)去，寫(xiě)字臺(tái)上滿(mǎn)是請(qǐng)?zhí)?，由著他挑選，而今那樣的情形已不復(fù)存在。他常常獨(dú)自一人在酒店房間里用餐，這種丟人的事情他可不愿叫外人知道。在英國(guó)，有地位的女人一旦出了丑聞，就會(huì)被社交界拒之門(mén)外，她們轉(zhuǎn)而會(huì)對(duì)藝術(shù)產(chǎn)生興趣，召集畫(huà)家、作家和音樂(lè)家圍繞于身邊。艾略特心高氣傲，絕不愿委屈自己，與之為伍。

“The death duties and the war profiteers have ruined English society，”he told me.“People don't seem to mind whothey know. London still has its tailors, its bootmakers, and its hatters, and I trust they'll last my time, but except for them it's finished.My dear fellow, do you know that the St.Erth's have women to wait at table?”
“遺產(chǎn)稅和戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)投機(jī)商把英國(guó)社交界給毀掉了?！彼麑?duì)我說(shuō)道，“人們好像對(duì)于和什么人來(lái)往全不在乎。按說(shuō)，倫敦的裁縫和鞋帽匠還是不錯(cuò)的。我相信我死之前會(huì)一直如此。除了這一點(diǎn)好處之外，這座城市便一無(wú)是處了。老伙計(jì)，圣艾爾斯家要女傭伺候飯桌，這你知道嗎？”

This he said when we were walking away from Carlton House Terrace after a luncheon party at which an unfortunate incident had occurred. Our noble host had a well-known collection of pictures, and a young American who was there, Paul Barton by name, expressed a desire to see them.
這話是他和我在卡爾頓府邸吃完午宴，離開(kāi)時(shí)講的。就在那天的午宴上，發(fā)生了一樁不幸事件。尊貴的東道主在藏畫(huà)上小有名氣，午宴上有個(gè)年輕的美國(guó)客人，名叫保羅·巴頓，此人提出想看看他的藏畫(huà)。

“You've got a Titian, haven't you?”
“你是不是有幅提香的畫(huà)？”

“We had. It's in America now.Some old Jew offered us a packet of money for it and we were damned hard up at the time, so my governor sold it.”
“曾經(jīng)有過(guò)。現(xiàn)在，這幅畫(huà)在美國(guó)呢。一個(gè)猶太佬出一大筆錢(qián)買(mǎi)它，而我們家當(dāng)時(shí)手頭正拮據(jù)，所以老爺子就把它賣(mài)了?！?/p>

I noticed that Elliott, bristling, threw a venomous glance at the jovial marquess, and guessed that it was he who had bought the picture. He was furious at hearing himself, Virginian born and the descendant of a signatory of the Declaration, thus described.He had never in his life suffered so great an affront.And what made it worse was that Paul Barton was the object of his virulent hatred.He was a young man who had appeared in London soon after the war.He was twenty-three, blond, very good-looking, charming, a beautiful dancer, and had an ample fortune.He had brought a letter of introduction to Elliott, who with the kindness of heart natural to him had presented him to several of his friends.Not content with this he had given him some valuable hints on conduct.Delving back into his own experience, he had shown him how it was possible, by paying small attentions to old ladies and by lending a willing ear to distinguished men, however tedious, for a stranger to make his way in society.
我注意到艾略特一邊支棱起耳朵聽(tīng)，一邊把談笑風(fēng)生的侯爵狠狠瞪了一眼，于是便猜到那個(gè)買(mǎi)畫(huà)人就是艾略特。他這么個(gè)出身于弗吉尼亞，祖先曾在《獨(dú)立宣言》上簽過(guò)字的人，竟然聽(tīng)見(jiàn)自己遭到如此奚落，簡(jiǎn)直都快把肺氣炸了。他有生以來(lái)從未受過(guò)這樣的奇恥大辱。最叫他受不了的是，挑起事端的是他恨之入骨的保羅·巴頓。這個(gè)年輕人戰(zhàn)后不久便來(lái)到了倫敦。他二十三歲的年紀(jì)，金發(fā)碧眼，一表人才，風(fēng)度翩翩，跳舞跳得好，手里很有錢(qián)。他拿了一封信來(lái)見(jiàn)艾略特，艾略特素來(lái)有善心，就把他介紹給了自己的好多朋友。這還不夠，他還為他指點(diǎn)迷津，給了他一些寶貴的忠告。根據(jù)自己的親身經(jīng)歷，艾略特向他傳授經(jīng)驗(yàn)，說(shuō)只要對(duì)年齡大的貴婦人獻(xiàn)獻(xiàn)殷勤，對(duì)顯貴人物說(shuō)的話，不管怎樣膩味，都應(yīng)該洗耳恭聽(tīng)，這樣，即便是一個(gè)舉目無(wú)親的人也能躋身于社交界。

But it was a different world that Paul Barton entered from that into which, a generation before, Elliott Templeton had penetrated by means of dogged perseverance. It was a world bent on amusing itself.Paul Barton's high spirits, pleasing exterior, and engaging manner did for him in a few weeks what Elliott had achieved only after years of industry and determination.Soon he no longer needed Elliott's help and took small pains to conceal the fact.He was pleasant to him when they met, but in an offhand way that deeply offended the older man.Elliott did not ask people to a party because he liked them, but because they helped to make it go, and since Paul Barton was popular he continued to invite him on occasion to his weekly luncheons；but the successful young man was generally engaged and twice he threw Elliott over at the last moment.Elliott had done this himself too often not to know it was because he had just had a more tempting invitation.
可是，保羅·巴頓步入的社交界和幾十年前艾略特·鄧普頓費(fèi)盡千辛萬(wàn)苦才鉆進(jìn)去的社交界完全是兩個(gè)世界。這個(gè)世界只追歡尋樂(lè)。保羅·巴頓豪情滿(mǎn)懷、儀表堂堂、風(fēng)度翩翩，沒(méi)用幾個(gè)星期便有了效果，其成就不亞于艾略特多年的苦心經(jīng)營(yíng)。很快，他便不需要艾略特的提攜了，對(duì)此他也沒(méi)有做出樣子加以掩飾。兩人見(jiàn)面時(shí)，保羅·巴頓仍然說(shuō)些開(kāi)心的話，但語(yǔ)氣卻漫不經(jīng)心，深深刺傷了這位老者的自尊。艾略特請(qǐng)客，不是視自己是否喜歡，而是看對(duì)方能不能給宴會(huì)增輝，鑒于保羅·巴頓人緣不錯(cuò)，所以每星期設(shè)午宴仍舊請(qǐng)他。不過(guò)，這個(gè)成功的年輕人一般都有約會(huì)，有兩次到了最后時(shí)刻才告知艾略特，給艾略特弄個(gè)措手不及。這種事艾略特本人過(guò)去也經(jīng)常做，哪能不知底細(xì)——保羅·巴頓顯然是剛剛收到了一份更具吸引力的邀請(qǐng)。

“I don't ask you to believe it，”Elliott told me, fuming，“but it's God's truth that when I see him now he patronizes me. ME.Titian.Titian，”he spluttered.“He wouldn't know a Titian if he saw one.”
“我也不要求你相信我的話，”艾略特氣哼哼地對(duì)我說(shuō)，“但事實(shí)如此——他竟然想在我面前擺譜。我是誰(shuí)呀！還談什么提香不提香?！闭f(shuō)到此處，艾略特一副氣急敗壞的樣子，“就是把提香的畫(huà)放在他面前，他也不見(jiàn)得能認(rèn)出來(lái)?！?/p>

I had never seen Elliott so angry and I guessed his wrath was caused by his belief that Paul Barton had asked about the picture maliciously, having somehow learnt that Elliott had bought it, and would make a funny story at his expense out of the noble lord's reply.
我從來(lái)沒(méi)見(jiàn)過(guò)艾略特生這么大的氣。據(jù)我猜想，他之所以動(dòng)怒，是因?yàn)樗X(jué)得保羅·巴頓問(wèn)起這張畫(huà)是出于惡意；這個(gè)年輕人不知從哪兒獲悉艾略特買(mǎi)了這幅畫(huà)，于是就想利用那位貴族老爺?shù)幕卮鹉冒蕴亻_(kāi)涮。

“He's nothing but a dirty little snob, and if there's one thing in the world I detest and despise it's snobbishness. He'd have been nowhere except for me.Would you believe it, his father makes office furniture.Office furniture.”He put withering scorn into the two words.“And when I tell people he simply doesn't exist in America, his origins couldn’t be more humble, they don’t seem to care.Take my word for it, my dear fellow, English society is as dead as the dodo.”
“他是個(gè)厚顏無(wú)恥的市儈，天下我最痛恨、最瞧不起的就是這種勢(shì)利小人。要不是我，他狗屁都不是。相信不相信，他的父親是做辦公家具的。辦公家具！”說(shuō)最后幾個(gè)字的時(shí)候，他的語(yǔ)氣十分輕蔑，“我告誡人們，說(shuō)他在美國(guó)是個(gè)無(wú)名之輩，出身極其寒酸，可是他們好像并不在乎。請(qǐng)記住我的話，老伙計(jì)，英國(guó)的社交界算是完了，跟渡渡鳥(niǎo)一個(gè)樣?！?/p>

Nor did Elliott find France much better. There the great ladies of his youth, if still alive, were given over to bridge（a game he loathed），piety, and the care of their grandchildren.Manufacturers, Argentines, Chileans, American women separated or divorced from their husbands, inhabited the stately houses of the aristocracy and entertained with splendour, but at their parties Elliott was confounded to meet politicians who spoke French with a vulgar accent, journalists whose table manners were deplorable, and even actors.The scions of princely families thought it no shame to marry the daughters of shopkeepers.It was true Paris was gay, but with what a shoddy gaiety！The young, devoted to the mad pursuit of pleasure, thought nothing more amusing than to go from one stuffy little night club to another, drinking champagne at a hundred francs a bottle and dancing close-packed with the riff-raff of the town till five o'clock in the morning.The smoke, the heat, the noise made Elliott's head ache.This was not the Paris that he had accepted thirty years before as his spiritual home.This was not the Paris that good Americans went to when they died.
依艾略特看，法國(guó)的情形也好不到哪兒去。他年輕時(shí)結(jié)識(shí)的那些貴婦人，即便仍活著，也是沉迷于打橋牌（他最討厭的一種牌戲）、做祈禱和照料孫輩。如今，工廠主們、阿根廷人、智利人以及那些和丈夫分居或者離了婚的美國(guó)婦女，卻住進(jìn)了貴族那富麗堂皇的府邸，請(qǐng)客吃飯，極盡奢華之能事。叫艾略特所不齒的是，在他們舉辦的宴會(huì)上，見(jiàn)到的都是些說(shuō)起法語(yǔ)俗不可耐的政客、要吃相沒(méi)吃相要坐相沒(méi)坐相的記者，甚至還有戲子。侯門(mén)家的少爺娶個(gè)商店店主的小家碧玉，并不覺(jué)得丟人。誠(chéng)然，巴黎是歡樂(lè)之都，但這種歡樂(lè)是何等缺乏品味！年輕人們追求的是紙醉金迷、燈紅酒綠，認(rèn)為最有趣的生活莫過(guò)于走進(jìn)一家空間狹小、烏煙瘴氣的夜總會(huì)，花一百法郎喝一瓶香檳酒，擠在不三不四的人群里跳舞，一直跳到次日凌晨五點(diǎn)鐘。煙氣、熱氣、嘈雜聲，這些叫艾略特感到頭痛。眼前的巴黎不再是他三十年前心目中的精神家園，不再是有品位的美國(guó)人渴望在死后升入的天堂。