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“Oh, Pa,” cried Scarlett impatiently, “if I married him, I’d change all that!”
“啊，爸爸，”思嘉不耐煩地說，"如果我跟他結了婚，我會把這一切都改變過來的！”
“Oh, you would, would you now?” Said Gerald testily, shooting a sharp look at her. “Then it’s little enough you are knowing of any man living, let alone Ashley. No wife has ever changed a husband one whit, and don’t you be forgetting that. And as for changing a Wilkes—God’s nightgown, daughter! The whole family is that way, and they’ve always been that way. And probably always will. I tell you they’re born queer. Look at the way they go tearing up to New York and Boston to hear operas and see oil paintings. And ordering French and German books by the crate from the Yankees! And there they sit reading and dreaming the dear God knows what, when they’d be better spending their time hunting and playing poker as proper men should.”
“唔，你會，你現在就會？"杰拉爾德暴躁地說，狠狠地瞪了她一眼。"這說明你對世界上任何一個男人都知道得還很少，更何況對艾希禮呢。你可千萬別忘了哪個妻子也不曾把丈夫改變一丁點兒埃至于說改變威爾克斯家的某個人，那簡直是笑話，女兒。他們全家都那樣，且歷來如此。并且大概會永遠這樣下去了。我告訴你，他們生來就這么古怪。瞧他們今天跑紐約，明天跑波士頓，去聽什么歌劇，看什么油畫，那個忙乎戲兒！還要從北方佬那兒一大箱一大箱地訂購法文和德文書呢！然后他們就坐下來讀，坐下來夢想天知道什么玩意兒，這樣的大好時光要是像正常人那樣用來打獵和玩撲克，該多好呀！”
“There’s nobody in the County sits a horse better than Ashley,” said Scarlett, furious at the slur of effeminacy flung on Ashley, “nobody except maybe his father. And as for poker, didn’t Ashley take two hundred dollars away from you just last week in Jonesboro?”
“可是縣里沒有騎馬得比艾希禮更好的呢，"思嘉對這些盡是誣蔑艾希禮的話十分惱火，便開始辯護起來。“也許他父親不算，此外一個人也沒有。至于打撲克，艾希禮不是上星期在瓊博羅還贏走了你二百美元嗎？”
“The Calvert boys have been blabbing again,” Gerald said resignedly, “else you’d not be knowing the amount. Ashley can ride with the best and play poker with the best—that’s me, Puss! And I’m not denying that when he sets out to drink he can put even the Tarletons under the table. He can do all those things, but his heart’s not in it. That’s why I say he’s queer.”
“卡爾佛特家的小子們又在胡扯了，"杰拉爾德不加辯解地說，"要不然你怎會知道這個數目。艾希禮能夠跟最出色的騎手騎馬，也能跟最出色的牌友玩撲克----我就是最出色的，姑娘！而且我不否認，他喝起酒來能使甚至塔爾頓家的人也醉倒了桌子底下。所有這些他都行，可是他的心不在這上面。這就是我說他為人古怪的原因。”
Scarlett was silent and her heart sank. She could think of no defense for this last, for she knew Gerald was right. Ashley’s heart was in none of the pleasant things he did so well. He was never more than politely interested in any of the things that vitally interested every one else.
思嘉默不作聲，她的心在往下沉。對于這最后一點，她想不出辯護的話來了，因為她知道杰拉爾德是對的。艾希禮的心不在所有這些他玩得最好的娛樂上。對于大家所最感興趣的任何事物，他最多只不過出于禮貌，表示愛好而已。
