評論
打印
Although Miss Nipper was nervous in regard of dogs, and felt it necessary to come into the room with her skirts carefully collected about her, as if she were crossing a brook on stepping-stones; also to utter little screams and stand up on chairs when Diogenes stretched himself, she was in her own manner affected by the kindness of Mr Toots, and could not see Florence so alive to the attachment and society of this rude friend of little Paul's, without some mental comments thereupon that brought the water to her eyes. Mr Dombey, as a part of her reflections, may have been, in the association of ideas, connected with the dog; but, at any rate, after observing Diogenes and his mistress all the evening, and after exerting herself with much good-will to provide Diogenes a bed in an ante-chamber outside his mistress's door, she said hurriedly to Florence, before leaving her for the night:
雖然尼珀姑娘看到狗總是緊張不安，走進房間時覺得有必要小心翼翼地提起圍裙邊緣，仿佛踩著石頭走過溪流似的；當戴奧吉尼斯伸展四肢時，她會發出尖叫，站到椅子上去；但是圖茨先生的好意卻使她內心很受感動；當她看到弗洛倫斯由于小保羅的這位粗野的朋友跟她親熱、做伴而這么精神抖擻，喜氣洋洋時，心中不免產生出一些感慨，這些想法使她的眼淚奪眶而出。董貝先生是她感慨的一部分，她在聯想中可能把他跟這條狗聯系起來進行比較了，可是，不管怎么樣，當她對戴奧吉尼斯和她的女主人觀察了整整一晚上，她又好意地親自在她的女主人門外的一個接待室里為戴奧吉尼斯準備了一張床之后，她在夜間告別之前，還是急忙對弗洛倫斯說：
'Your Pa's a going off, Miss Floy, tomorrow morning.'
“弗洛伊小姐，您爸爸明天早上就要動身走了。”
'To-morrow morning, Susan?'
“明天早上，蘇珊？”
'Yes, Miss; that's the orders. Early.'
“是的，小姐，是這么吩咐的。一清早。”
'Do you know,' asked Florence, without looking at her, 'where Papa is going, Susan?'
“您知不知道，”弗洛倫斯沒有看著他，問道，“爸爸上哪里去，蘇珊？”
'Not exactly, Miss. He's going to meet that precious Major first, and I must say if I was acquainted with any Major myself (which Heavens forbid), it shouldn't be a blue one!'
“不十分清楚，小姐。他首先去跟那位寶貝少校碰頭。我必須說，如果我本人要結識什么少校的話（老天爺不允許！），那么我也決不會結識一位皮膚發青的！”
'Hush, Susan!' urged Florence gently.
“輕一點，蘇珊！”弗洛倫斯溫和地勸告她。
'Well, Miss Floy,' returned Miss Nipper, who was full of burning indignation, and minded her stops even less than usual. 'I can't help it, blue he is, and while I was a Christian, although humble, I would have natural-coloured friends, or none.'
“唔，弗洛伊小姐，”尼珀姑娘回答道，她怒火中燒，比平時更不注意標點符號。“我管不住自己，不能不說，他皮膚發青是事實，只要我是一個基督教徒，盡管身份低微，我也寧愿跟自然膚色的人交朋友，要不就一個朋友也不交。”
It appeared from what she added and had gleaned downstairs, that Mrs Chick had proposed the Major for Mr Dombey's companion, and that Mr Dombey, after some hesitation, had invited him.
從她隨后補充的話和她在樓下零零星星聽到的話看來，奇克夫人曾建議少校給董貝先生當旅伴；董貝先生猶豫了一番之后，已經邀請了他。
'Talk of him being a change, indeed!' observed Miss Nipper to herself with boundless contempt. 'If he's a change, give me a constancy.
“他們提起他就好像他是個什么可以更換的東西一樣，真是的！”尼珀姑娘懷著無限的輕蔑，說道，“如果他是個可以更換的東西的話，那么就請給我一個固定不變的東西吧！”
'Good-night, Susan,' said Florence.
“晚安，蘇珊，”弗洛倫斯說。
'Good-night, my darling dear Miss Floy.'
“晚安，我的寶貝親愛的弗洛伊小姐。”
