評論
打印
'What's his name, Captain Cuttle?' inquired Walter, determined to be interested in the Captain's friend.
“他姓什么，卡特爾船長？”沃爾特問道，他決定對船長的朋友發生興趣。
'His name's Bunsby, said the Captain. 'But Lord, it might be anything for the matter of that, with such a mind as his!'
“他姓邦斯貝，”船長說道，“可是我的天主！其實，像他那樣頭腦的人，你管他姓什么都可以！”
The exact idea which the Captain attached to this concluding piece of praise, he did not further elucidate; neither did Walter seek to draw it forth. For on his beginning to review, with the vivacity natural to himself and to his situation, the leading points in his own affairs,he soon discovered that the Captain had relapsed into his former profound state of mind; and that while he eyed him steadfastly from beneath his bushy eyebrows, he evidently neither saw nor heard him, but remained immersed in cogitation.
船長沒有進一步闡明最后一句贊語的確切含意，沃爾特也沒有對它尋根究底。因為當他有聲有色地（就他和他的處境來說，這是很自然的）重新敘述他的主要困難時，他立刻發現船長又重新陷入先前那深思遠慮的狀態中。雖然他從濃密的眉毛下一動不動地凝視著他，可是他顯然并沒有看見他，也沒有聽見他說話，而是沉浸在思考之中。
In fact, Captain Cuttle was labouring with such great designs, that far from being aground, he soon got off into the deepest of water, and could find no bottom to his penetration. By degrees it became perfectly plain to the Captain that there was some mistake here; that it was undoubtedly much more likely to be Walter's mistake than his; that if there were really any West India scheme afoot, it was a very different one from what Walter, who was young and rash, supposed; and could only be some new device for making his fortune with unusual celerity. 'Or if there should be any little hitch between 'em,' thought the Captain, meaning between Walter and Mr Dombey, 'it only wants a word in season from a friend of both parties, to set it right and smooth, and make all taut again.' Captain Cuttle's deduction from these considerations was, that as he already enjoyed the pleasure of knowing Mr Dombey, from having spent a very agreeable half-hour in his company at Brighton (on the morning when they borrowed the money); and that, as a couple of men of the world, who understood each other, and were mutually disposed to make things comfortable, could easily arrange any little difficulty of this sort, and come at the real facts; the friendly thing for him to do would be, without saying anything about it to Walter at present, just to step up to Mr Dombey's house—say to the servant 'Would ye be so good, my lad, as report Cap'en Cuttle here?'—meet Mr Dombey in a confidential spirit- hook him by the button-hole—talk it over—make it all right—and come away triumphant!
實際上，卡特爾船長正在擬訂宏偉的計劃；他根本沒有擱淺，而是很快就進入水的最深處，而且無法探找到他要穿透的底層。船長逐漸地完全看清了事情的原委：這里存在著一些誤會，毫無疑問，這很可能是沃爾特而不是他所產生的誤會。如果真有什么西印度群島計劃將討諸實施的話，那么它也跟年輕、性急的沃爾特所設想的大不相同；它只能是使他飛黃騰達的一種新安排。船長心里想，“或者如果在他們之間（他是指在沃爾特與董貝先生之間）有點什么小小的疙瘩的話，那么只消雙方的老朋友適時地說上一句話，那就可以完全解開，大家就會重新和好如初，就像把兩條鉤住的船調理順當一樣?！笨ㄌ貭柎L從這些考慮中得出的想法是，由于他已經有幸認識董貝先生，在他們借錢的那個上午，曾經在布賴頓和他在一起很愉快地消度了半個小時；再說他們既然都是上流社會的人，而且相互了解，愿意把事情處理得和順得當，那樣就會很容易解決這樣一類小小的困難，弄清事實真相；因此，他應盡的朋友之誼就是：現在什么話也不對沃爾特說，而是直接走到董貝先生的公館，對仆人說，“老弟，勞駕您通報一下，卡特爾船長到這里來了。”然后在極為信任的氣氛中會見董貝先生——鉤住他的鈕扣孔——，交談一切，把事情處理得完善妥貼，然后得意揚揚地離開！
