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Book 2, Chapter 33.
第二册，第33章。
It was, as Mrs. Archer smilingly said to Mrs. Welland, a great event for a young couple to give their first big dinner.
正像阿切尔太太笑盈盈地对韦兰太太说的，对一对小夫妻来说，举办第一次大型晚宴可是件了不起的大事。
The Newland Archers, since they had set up their household, had received a good deal of company in an informal way.
纽兰·阿切尔夫妇成家以来，非正式地接待过不少客人。
Archer was fond of having three or four friends to dine, and May welcomed them with the beaming readiness of which her mother had set her the example in conjugal affairs.
阿切尔喜欢邀上三五个朋友一起用餐，梅则效法母亲在处理夫妻事务中为她树立的榜样，满脸笑容地招待来客。
Her husband questioned whether, if left to herself, she would ever have asked any one to the house; but he had long given up trying to disengage her real self from the shape into which tradition and training had moulded her.
倘若只剩下她一个人，是否也会请人来做客呢--她丈夫表示怀疑；不过他早已放弃了从传统与教养把她塑造的模式中剥离出她的真实自我的打算。
It was expected that well-off young couples in New York should do a good deal of informal entertaining, and a Welland married to an Archer was doubly pledged to the tradition.
一对住在纽约的富家年轻夫妇理应有大量的非正式招待活动，一位姓韦兰的嫁给一位姓阿切尔的之后，恪守这一传统就更是义不容辞了。
But a big dinner, with a hired chef and two borrowed footmen, with Roman punch, roses from Henderson's, and menus on gilt-edged cards, was a different affair, and not to be lightly undertaken.
然而大型晚宴可就另当别论了，要办一次谈何容易！它需要雇一位厨师，借两名男仆，要有罗马潘趣酒，亨德森花店的玫瑰，还有印在金边卡片上的菜单。
As Mrs. Archer remarked, the Roman punch made all the difference; not in itself but by its manifold implications--since it signified either canvas-backs or terrapin, two soups, a hot and a cold sweet, full decolletage with short sleeves, and guests of a proportionate importance.
正如阿切尔太太说的，有了罗马潘趣酒，情况就大不一样了；倒不在于酒本身，而在于它多重的含义--它意味着要上灰背野鸭或者甲鱼，两道汤，一冷一热两道甜食，短袖露肩衫，以及有相当身份的客人。
It was always an interesting occasion when a young pair launched their first invitations in the third person, and their summons was seldom refused even by the seasoned and sought-after.
一对年轻夫妇用第三人称发出他们的第一批请柬，总是件十分有趣的事；他们的邀请就连那些老手和热门人物也很少拒绝。
Still, it was admittedly a triumph that the van der Luydens, at May's request, should have stayed over in order to be present at her farewell dinner for the Countess Olenska.
尽管如此，范德卢顿夫妇能应梅的要求留下来，出席她为奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人举办的告别宴会，仍然被公认为是一大胜利。
The two mothers-in-law sat in May's drawing-room on the afternoon of the great day, Mrs. Archer writing out the menus on Tiffany's thickest gilt-edged bristol, while Mrs. Welland superintended the placing of the palms and standard lamps.
在这个不同寻常的下午，身为婆母与岳母的两位太太坐在梅的客厅里，阿切尔太太在最厚的金边卡片纸上写着菜单，韦兰太太则指挥着摆放棕榈树与落地灯。
Archer, arriving late from his office, found them still there.
阿切尔很晚才从事务所回来，到家时发现她们还在这儿。
Mrs. Archer had turned her attention to the name-cards for the table, and Mrs. Welland was considering the effect of bringing forward the large gilt sofa, so that another "corner" might be created between the piano and the window.
阿切尔太太已经把注意力转向餐桌上的人名卡，而韦兰太太正在斟酌把镀金大沙发弄到前边的效果，这样可以在钢琴和窗于中间又留出一个“角落。”
May, they told him, was in the dining-room inspecting the mound of Jacqueminot roses and maidenhair in the centre of the long table, and the placing of the Maillard bonbons in openwork silver baskets between the candelabra.
他们告诉他，梅正在餐厅里检查长餐桌中间的那一堆杰克明诺玫瑰和铁线蕨，以及放在校形烛台间的那几个盛糖果的楼刻银盘子。
On the piano stood a large basket of orchids which Mr. van der Luyden had had sent from Skuytercliff.
钢琴上面放着一大篮子范德卢顿先生让人从斯库特克利夫送来的兰花。
Everything was, in short, as it should be on the approach of so considerable an event.
总之，在如此重大事件来临之际，一切都已按照常规准备就绪。
Mrs. Archer ran thoughtfully over the list, checking off each name with her sharp gold pen.
阿切尔太太若有所思地看着客人名单，用她那支尖头金笔在每个名字上打着勾。
"Henry van der Luyden--Louisa--the Lovell Mingotts --the Reggie Chiverses-Lawrence Lefferts and Gertrude--yes, I suppose May was right to have them-the Selfridge Merrys, Sillerton Jackson, Van Newland and his wife.
“亨利·范德卢顿--路易莎--洛弗尔·明戈特夫妇--里吉·奇弗斯夫妇--劳伦斯·莱弗茨和格特鲁德，不错，我想梅请他们是对的--塞尔弗里奇·梅里一家，西勒顿·杰克逊，范纽兰和他妻子
How time passes! It seems only yesterday that he was your best man, Newland-and Countess Olenska--yes, I think that's all...."
纽兰，时间过得真快呀，他给你做演相仿佛还是昨天的事--还有奥兰斯卡伯爵夫人--对，我想就这些了……”
Mrs. Welland surveyed her son-in-law affectionately.
韦兰太太亲切地上下打量了她的女婿一番说：
"No one can say, Newland, that you and May are not giving Ellen a handsome send-off."
“纽兰，人人都会说你和梅是多么慷慨地为埃伦送行的。”
"Ah, well," said Mrs. Archer, "I understand May's wanting her cousin to tell people abroad that we're not quite barbarians."
“哦--嗯，”阿切尔太太说，“我认为梅是想让她的表姊告诉外国人，我们并非那么不开化。”
"I'm sure Ellen will appreciate it. She was to arrive this morning, I believe. It will make a most charming last impression.
“我敢肯定埃伦会十分感激。我想她今天上午就该到了。宴会将留下美好的最后印象。
The evening before sailing is usually so dreary," Mrs. Welland cheerfully continued.
启程远航前的头天晚上通常都是很枯燥乏味的，”韦兰太太兴冲冲地接着说。
Archer turned toward the door, and his mother-in- law called to him: "Do go in and have a peep at the table. And don't let May tire herself too much."
阿切尔朝门口转过身去，岳母喊他说：“过去瞧瞧餐桌吧，别让梅太劳累了。”
But he affected not to hear, and sprang up the stairs to his library.
但他假装没有听见，跃上楼梯，去了图书室。
The room looked at him like an alien countenance composed into a polite grimace; and he perceived that it had been ruthlessly "tidied," and prepared, by a judicious distribution of ash-trays and cedar-wood boxes, for the gentlemen to smoke in.
图书室就像一张陌生面孔装出一副彬彬有礼的鬼脸，他发现它被冷酷地“整顿”过，布置过了，明智地分放了烟灰缸和松木匣子，以备绅士们在里面吸烟。
"Ah, well," he thought, "it's not for long--" and he went on to his dressing-room.
“啊--嗯，”他心想，“反正不用很久--”他接着又到梳妆室去了。
Ten days had passed since Madame Olenska's departure from New York.
奥兰斯卡夫人离开纽约已经10天了。
During those ten days Archer had had no sign from her but that conveyed by the return of a key wrapped in tissue paper, and sent to his office in a sealed envelope addressed in her hand.
这10天当中，阿切尔没有得到她一点音讯，只有还给他的一把包着绵纸的钥匙，是封在信封内送到他办公室去的，信封上的地址是她的手迹。
This retort to his last appeal might have been interpreted as a classic move in a familiar game; but the young man chose to give it a different meaning.
对他最后请求的这种答复本来可以看作一场普通游戏的典型步骤，但年轻人却偏偏赋予它另外的含义：
She was still fighting against her fate; but she was going to Europe, and she was not returning to her husband.
她仍然在作反抗命运的挣扎，她仅仅是要到欧洲去，而不是回她丈夫身边。
Nothing, therefore, was to prevent his following her; and once he had taken the irrevocable step, and had proved to her that it was irrevocable, he believed she would not send him away.
因此，没有什么事情会阻碍他去追随她。一旦他采取了无可挽回的步骤，并向她证明已无可挽回，他相信她不会撵他走。
