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There was a certain calm Apothecary, 'who attended at the establishment when any of the young gentlemen were ill, and somehow he got into the room and appeared at the bedside, with Mrs Blimber. How they came there, or how long they had been there, Paul didn't know; but when he saw them, he sat up in bed, and answered all the Apothecary's questions at full length, and whispered to him that Florence was not to know anything about it, if he pleased, and that he had set his mind upon her coming to the party. He was very chatty with the Apothecary, and they parted excellent friends. Lying down again with his eyes shut, he heard the Apothecary say, out of the room and quite a long way off - or he dreamed it - that there was a want of vital power (what was that, Paul wondered!) and great constitutional weakness. That as the little fellow had set his heart on parting with his school-mates on the seventeenth, it would be better to indulge the fancy if he grew no worse. That he was glad to hear from Mrs Pipchin, that the little fellow would go to his friends in London on the eighteenth. That he would write to Mr Dombey, when he should have gained a better knowledge of the case, and before that day. That there was no immediate cause for - what? Paul lost that word And that the little fellow had a fine mind, but was an old-fashioned boy.
有一位沉著鎮(zhèn)靜的藥劑師，不論哪一位年輕的先生病了，他就到學(xué)校里來。不知怎么的，他進(jìn)了這個(gè)房間，并和布林伯夫人一起出現(xiàn)在床邊。保羅不知道他們是怎樣來到這里的以及他們?cè)谶@里待了多久；但是當(dāng)他看到他們的時(shí)候，他在床上坐起來，詳詳細(xì)細(xì)地回答藥劑師的一切問題，并低聲對(duì)他說，請(qǐng)他別讓弗洛倫斯知道任何情形，還說他已下定決心讓她來參加晚會(huì)。他跟藥劑師絮絮叨叨地聊了很多話；離別的時(shí)候，他們已成了十分要好的朋友。當(dāng)他閉上眼睛重新躺下的時(shí)候，他聽到藥劑師在房間外面很遠(yuǎn)的一個(gè)地方說——或者是他夢見這個(gè)情形——，他缺乏生命力（保羅納悶這是什么！），體質(zhì)十分虛弱；由于這小家伙決心在十七日那一天跟他的同學(xué)們離別，因此如果他的狀況沒有惡化的話，那么最好是滿足他的愿望；保羅又聽他說，他很高興從皮普欽太太那里聽到，這小家伙想在十八日到他倫敦的朋友家里去；他對(duì)病人的情況了解得更加清楚的時(shí)候，他將在十八日以前寫信給董貝先生。現(xiàn)在沒有直接的理由要——什么？保羅沒有聽清這個(gè)詞。保羅還聽到他說，這小家伙頭腦聰明，但他是個(gè)老氣的孩子。
What old fashion could that be, Paul wondered with a palpitating heart, that was so visibly expressed in him; so plainly seen by so many people!
他那么明白地表達(dá)，許多人又那么清楚地看到的老氣究竟是什么呢？保羅懷著一顆跳動(dòng)的心感到納悶。
He could neither make it out, nor trouble himself long with the effort. Mrs Pipchin was again beside him, if she had ever been away (he thought she had gone out with the Doctor, but it was all a dream perhaps), and presently a bottle and glass got into her hands magically, and she poured out the contents for him. After that, he had some real good jelly, which Mrs Blimber brought to him herself; and then he was so well, that Mrs Pipchin went home, at his urgent solicitation, and Briggs and Tozer came to bed. Poor Briggs grumbled terribly about his own analysis, which could hardly have discomposed him more if it had been a chemical process; but he was very good to Paul, and so was Tozer, and so were all the rest, for they every one looked in before going to bed, and said, 'How are you now, Dombey?' 'Cheer up, little Dombey!' and so forth. After Briggs had got into bed, he lay awake for a long time, still bemoaning his analysis, and saying he knew it was all wrong, and they couldn't have analysed a murderer worse, and - how would Doctor Blimber like it if his pocket-money depended on it? It was very easy, Briggs said, to make a galley-slave of a boy all the half-year, and then score him up idle; and to crib two dinners a-week out of his board, and then score him up greedy; but that wasn't going to be submitted to, he believed, was it? Oh! Ah!
他弄不明白這一點(diǎn)，也沒有長時(shí)間花心思去琢磨。皮普欽太太如果曾經(jīng)離開的話（他想，他跟博士一起出去了，但也可能這全都是一場夢），現(xiàn)在她又在他身邊了。不久，一個(gè)瓶和一個(gè)杯子魔術(shù)般地出現(xiàn)在她手里，她為他把瓶子里的東西倒出來。在這之后，布林伯夫人親自給他送來一些真正美味的果子凍；然后他覺得自己很好，所以在他的迫切的懇求下，皮普欽太太就回家去了；布里格斯與托澤則回來睡覺了。可憐的布里格斯對(duì)他本人的分析評(píng)語感到憤憤不平；如果它是個(gè)化學(xué)過程的話，那么它也不會(huì)比這更使他煩惱不安；但是他對(duì)保羅很好，托澤對(duì)保羅也很好，其他所有人對(duì)他也都很好，因?yàn)樗麄兠總€(gè)人在就寢之前都前來看望他，并對(duì)他說，“您好嗎，董貝？”“高興起來，小董貝！”等等。布里格斯躺到床上以后，醒了好久，對(duì)他的分析評(píng)語仍舊喃喃抱怨著；他說，他知道它完全錯(cuò)了，他們要是對(duì)一個(gè)殺人犯進(jìn)行分析，也不會(huì)比這分析得更壞的了；布林伯博士如果靠這掙錢過活的話，那么他怎么能喜歡它呢？布里格斯說，讓一個(gè)孩子整整半年時(shí)間都成為劃船的奴隸，然后在分析中把他評(píng)為懶惰；每星期從他應(yīng)得的伙食中克扣去兩個(gè)正餐，然后在分析中把他評(píng)為貪吃，這是很容易的；但他相信，這是不能使人心悅誠服的，是不是？啊！天哪！
Before the weak-eyed young man performed on the gong next morning, he came upstairs to Paul and told him he was to lie still, which Paul very gladly did. Mrs Pipchin reappeared a little before the Apothecary, and a little after the good young woman whom Paul had seen cleaning the stove on that first morning (how long ago it seemed now!) had brought him his breakfast. There was another consultation a long way off, or else Paul dreamed it again; and then the Apothecary, coming back with Doctor and Mrs Blimber, said:
第二天早上，那位弱視的年輕人在敲鑼之前上樓來告訴保羅，他還是在床上躺著，不用起來，保羅很高興地依照他的話做了。皮普欽太太比藥劑師早來一些時(shí)候，但在她來之前更早一些時(shí)候，保羅第一個(gè)早上（那時(shí)候離現(xiàn)在似乎多長久啊！）看到的那位清掃火爐的善良的年輕女人把他的早飯送來了。他們?cè)谝粋€(gè)遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)的地方又開始商議，或者保羅又做了這樣的夢，然后，藥劑師跟布林伯博士和夫人一起走回來，說道：
'Yes, I think, Doctor Blimber, we may release this young gentleman from his books just now; the vacation being so very near at hand.'
“是的，我想，布林伯博士，既然假期很快就要來臨，那么我們現(xiàn)在就可以讓這位年輕的先生從他的書本中擺脫出來了。”
'By all means,' said Doctor Blimber. 'My love, you will inform Cornelia, if you please.'
“當(dāng)然可以，”布林伯博士說道。“親愛的，勞駕你通知科妮莉亞一聲。”
