May I ask,he said,how you have done so well,since you and I met on those lonely marshes?His eves were still fixed on mine,and I began to tremble.
我問你,他說,自從我和你在那個寂寞的沼澤地相見后,你是怎么富起來的?他的眼睛仍然盯著我的眼睛。我開始發抖。
I-I've been chosen to inherit a fortune,I whispered.
我,我被選中去繼承一筆財富,我小聲地說。
Perhaps I can guess how much,said the convict.Could it be,well,five hundred pounds a year?I stood up,holding on to the back of my chair,my heart beating like a hammer.
或許我多少能猜出來,這個逃犯說,可能是,唷,一年500英鎊?我抓著椅背站起來,像揣了只小兔一樣,心怦怦地跳。
The agent who arranged it all,he continued.was he perhaps a lawyer,name of Jaggers?
由監護人安排的這一切,他繼續說,他或許是一名律師吧,叫賈格斯?
Suddenly I realized the awful truth.I could not speak nor breathe,and fell on to the sofa.He brought his fierce old face close to mine,and bent over me.
我突然明白了這個可怕的真相。我啞口無言,喘不過氣來,癱倒在沙發上。他帶著可怕的老臉靠近我的臉伏在我上邊。
Yes,Pip,dear boy, Ive made a gentleman of you!You see,I promised myself that all the money I earned out there in Australia should go to you!
是啊,匹普,親愛的孩子,我把你培養為一名紳士!你明白,我向自己保證,把在澳大利亞掙來的錢,都將全部給你!
I'm your second father,Pip!Im not a gentleman myself,and I didnt go to school,but Ive got you,Pip!And look what a gentleman you are!And what books youve got!
我是你再生之父,匹普!我自己不是一個紳士,我沒有上過學。但是,我得到了你,匹普!瞧,你是一名紳士!你有這么多書!
You'll read them to me,Pip!And Ill be proud of you even if I cant understand them!Didnt you ever think it could be me who was sending the money?
你將給我讀這些書,匹普!即使我對書本一竅不通,我也會為你感到自豪!你無論如何也想不到提供給你錢的竟是我吧?
Oh no,no,no,I replied.Never,never!Wasnt any-one else involved at all?
噢,不,不,不,我回答說,從來沒有想到,從來沒有想到!再沒有人知道此事吧?
No,just me,and Jaggers,of course.Who else could there be?Dear boy,I kept myself going,you see,through all the hard work,just by thinking of you.
沒有,當然,只有我和賈格斯,還能有誰呢?親愛的孩子,我堅持自己的信念,你明白,通過拼命地工作,就是想著你,
And I promised myself Id come back to England one day,and see my boy.He laid his band on my shoulder.
我堅信總有一天會回到英國來,見見我的孩子。他把手放在我的肩上,
Now you must find a bed for me,he added,and remember,not a word to anybody.I was sent away for life,and theyll hang me if they discover Ive come back.
現在,你必須給我找個睡覺的地方,他補充著說,并記住,不能把此事張揚出去,我是被終生發配在那兒,如果他們發現我已經回來了,將會絞死我。
My feelings were horribly confused.The man who had paid for my education and luxuries for years was risking his life to see me.
我的心情被攪得恐怖慌亂。多年來,一直給我支付用于教育和奢侈的這個人,冒著生命危險來看我。
I could not like him,in fact my whole body trembled with disgust when he touched me,but I had to protect him.
我不可能喜歡他,當他碰我時,事實上我全身是由于厭惡而發抖。但是,我必須保護他。
He went to sleep in Herberts room.After locking all the doors carefully,I sat weakly down by the fire and tried to make sense of my life.
他到赫伯特的房間去睡覺,我小心地把所有的門緊鎖牢后,癱軟地坐在火爐旁,竭力地思考我的人生。
How foolish my dreams had been! Miss Havisham had never intended to make me rich,or let me marry Estella.
我的夢想多么愚蠢!郝薇香小姐從來沒有打算讓我富有,也沒有打算讓我和艾絲黛拉結婚。
But there was something worse than that.It was for this convict,who could be caught and hanged at any moment,that I had deserted Joe.
但是,有些比這個更糟糕的事情,就是這個逃犯,他隨時都會被抓到處以絞刑。還有,我已經拋棄了喬,
I could never,never,never forgive myself for that.
為這一點我從來不能,從來不能,從來不能原諒自己。

關于《遠大前程》《遠大前程》(1861)是狄更斯的后期作品,也是他思想上最為成熟的作品之一,與他所寫的其他涉及孤兒題材的小說一樣,書中以充滿同情和細致入微的筆觸塑造了喬、皮普和畢蒂等樸實善良的小人物。