評(píng)論
打印
Chapter 5
第五章
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:
夏天我同思特里克蘭德太太見(jiàn)面的次數(shù)不算少。我時(shí)不時(shí)地到她家里去吃午飯，或是去參加茶會(huì)；午飯總是吃得很好，茶點(diǎn)更是非常豐盛。我同思特里克蘭德太太很相投。我當(dāng)時(shí)年紀(jì)很輕，或許她喜歡的是指引著我幼稚的腳步走上文壇的艱辛道路，而在我這一方面，遇到一些不如意的瑣事也樂(lè)于找到一個(gè)人傾訴一番。我準(zhǔn)知道她會(huì)專(zhuān)神傾聽(tīng)，也一定能給我一些合乎情理的勸告。思特里克蘭德太太是很會(huì)同情人的。同情體貼本是一種很難得的本領(lǐng)，但是卻常常被那些知道自己有這種本領(lǐng)的人濫用了。他們一看到自己的朋友有什么不幸就惡狠狠地?fù)涞饺藗兩砩?，把自己的全部才能施展出?lái)，這就未免太可怕了。同情心應(yīng)該象一口油井一樣噴薄自出；慣愛(ài)表同情的人讓它縱情奔放，反而使那些受難者非常困窘。有的人胸膛上已經(jīng)沾了那么多淚水，我不忍再把我的灑上了。思特里克蘭德太太對(duì)自己的長(zhǎng)處運(yùn)用很得體，她讓你覺(jué)得你接受她的同情是對(duì)她作了一件好事。我年輕的時(shí)候在一陣熱情沖動(dòng)中，曾同柔斯·瓦特爾芙德談?wù)撨@件事，她說(shuō)：
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.
“牛奶很好吃，特別是加上幾滴白蘭地。但是母牛卻巴不得趕快讓它淌出去。腫脹的乳頭是很不舒服的?！?/div>
Rose Waterford had a blistering tongue. No one could say such bitter things; on the other hand, no one could do more charming ones.
柔斯·瓦特爾芙德的嘴非?？瘫?。這種辛辣的話誰(shuí)也說(shuō)不出口，但是另一方面，哪個(gè)人做事也沒(méi)有她漂亮。
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.
還有一件事叫我喜歡思特里克蘭德太太。她的住所布置得非常優(yōu)雅。房間總是干干凈凈，擺著花，叫人感到非常舒服?？蛷d里的印花布窗簾雖然圖案比較古板，可是色彩光艷，淡雅宜人。在雅致的小餐廳里吃飯是一種享受；餐桌式樣大方，兩個(gè)侍女干凈利落，菜肴烹調(diào)得非常精致。誰(shuí)都看得出，思特里克蘭德太太是一位能干的主婦，另外，毫無(wú)疑問(wèn)她也是一位賢妻良母。客廳里擺著她兒女的照片。兒子——他名叫羅伯特——十六歲，正在羅格貝學(xué)校讀書(shū)；你在照片上看到他穿著一套法蘭絨衣服，戴著板球帽，另外一張照片穿的是燕尾服，系著直立的硬領(lǐng)。他同母親一樣，生著寬凈的前額和沉思的漂亮的眼睛。他的樣子干凈整齊，看去又健康，又端正。
