評論
打印
Vanity
虛榮心
Monday, 5th.
星期日，5日。
Yesterday I went to take a walk along the Rivoli road with Votini and his father. As we were passing through the Via Dora Grossa we saw Stardi, the boy who kicks disturbers, standing stiffly in front of the window of a book-shop, with his eyes fixed on a geographical map; and no one knows how long he had been there, because he studies even in the street. He barely returned our salute, the rude fellow!
昨日與華梯尼及華梯尼的父親，同在利華利街方面散步。斯帶地立在書店的窗外看著地圖。他是無論在街上或別的什么地方也會用功的人，不曉得什么時候到了此地。我們和他招呼，他只把頭一回就算，好不講禮啊！
Votini was well dressed--even too much so. He had on morocco boots embroidered in red, an embroidered coat, small silken frogs, a white beaver hat, and a watch; and he strutted. But his vanity was destined to come to a bad end on this occasion. After having run a tolerably long distance up the Rivoli road, leaving his father, who was walking slowly, a long way in the rear, we halted at a stone seat, beside a modestly clad boy, who appeared to be weary, and was meditating, with drooping head. A man, who must have been his father, was walking to and fro under the trees, reading the newspaper. We sat down. Votini placed himself between me and the boy. All at once he recollected that he was well dressed, and wanted to make his neighbor admire and envy him. He lifted one foot, and said to me, "Have you seen my officer's boots?" He said this in order to make the other boy look at them; but the latter paid no attention to them.
華梯尼的裝束不用說是很漂亮的。他穿著繡花的摩洛哥長皮靴，著了繡花的衣裳，紐扣是絹包的，戴了白海貍的帽子，掛了時計，闊步地走著。可是昨天，華橫尼因了虛榮遭遇了很大的失敗：他父親走路很緩，我們兩個一直走在前，在路旁石凳上坐下。那里又坐了一個衣服質素的少年，好像很疲倦了，垂下了頭在沉思。華橫尼坐在我和那少年的中間，忽然似乎記起自己的服裝華美，想向少年夸耀，舉起腳來對我說：“你見了我的軍靴了嗎？”他的意思是給那少年看的，可是少年竟毫不注意。
Then he dropped his foot, and showed me his silk frogs, glancing askance at the boy the while, and said that these frogs did not please him, and that he wanted to have them changed to silver buttons; but the boy did not look at the frogs either.
華梯尼放下了腳，指絹包的紐扣給我看，一面眼瞟著那少年說：“這紐扣不合我意，我想換銀鑄的。”那少年仍舊不向他看一眼。
