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Such was the state of things when I left Cranford and went to Drumble.
这就是我离开克兰福德，去德拉布尔时的情况。
I had, however, several correspondents, who kept me au fait as to the proceedings of the dear little town.
不过，我与好几位居民一直写信，她们让我了解到这个可爱小镇的最新情况。
There was Miss Pole, who was becoming as much absorbed in crochet as she had been once in knitting, and the burden of whose letter was something like, “But don’t you forget the white worsted at Flint’s” of the old song; for at the end of every sentence of news came a fresh direction as to some crochet commission which I was to execute for her.
有波尔小姐，她对钩编的痴迷程度不亚于曾经对针织的痴迷，她信中的主要内容有点像那首老歌曲中的“但别忘了弗林特店里的白色精纺毛线”；因为在每句新闻的结尾，她都会给我下达一些新的钩针编织任务。
Miss Matilda Jenkyns (who did not mind being called Miss Matty, when Miss Jenkyns was not by) wrote nice, kind, rambling letters, now and then venturing into an opinion of her own; but suddenly pulling herself up, and either begging me not to name what she had said, as Deborah thought differently, and she knew, or else putting in a postscript to the effect that, since writing the above, she had been talking over the subject with Deborah, and was quite convinced that, etc.—(here probably followed a recantation of every opinion she had given in the letter).
马蒂尔达·詹金斯小姐（当詹金斯小姐不在场时，她并不介意被称为马蒂小姐）写了一些亲切、和善、随意闲聊的信件，偶尔也会大胆地表达自己的意见；但她突然停了下来，要么恳求我不要说出她说过的话，因为黛博拉有不同的看法，要么在信的附言中写道，自从写了上面的内容后，她已经和黛博拉讨论过这个问题，并且已经有了确定的看法，等等——（这里可能是对她在信中给出的所有意见的撤回）。
Then came Miss Jenkyns—Deborah, as she liked Miss Matty to call her, her father having once said that the Hebrew name ought to be so pronounced.
然后是詹金斯小姐——她喜欢让马蒂小姐叫她黛博拉，因为她父亲曾经说过，这个希伯来名字应该这么发音。
I secretly think she took the Hebrew prophetess for a model in character; and, indeed, she was not unlike the stern prophetess in some ways, making allowance, of course, for modern customs and difference in dress.
我暗自认为，她以那位希伯来女先知为性格上的榜样；的确，在某些方面她与那位严厉的女先知有相似之处，当然，要考虑到现代的风俗习惯和着装差异。
Miss Jenkyns wore a cravat, and a little bonnet like a jockey-cap, and altogether had the appearance of a strong-minded woman; although she would have despised the modern idea of women being equal to men.
詹金斯小姐系着围巾，戴着一顶像赛马帽的小帽子，总的来说，她看起来是一个意志坚强的女人；尽管她会鄙视现代女性与男性平等的观念。
Equal, indeed!
平等，确实呢！
She knew they were superior.
她知道男性是优越的。
But to return to her letters.
但是，回到她的信件上来。
Everything in them was stately and grand like herself.
信中的一切都像她自己一样庄严而宏伟。
I have been looking them over (dear Miss Jenkyns, how I honoured her!) and I will give an extract, more especially because it relates to our friend Captain Brown:—
我一直在仔细阅读她的信（亲爱的詹金斯小姐，我是多么尊敬她啊！） ，我将摘录一段，尤其是因为这一段与我们的朋友布朗上尉有关：—
“The Honourable Mrs Jamieson has only just quitted me; and, in the course of conversation, she communicated to me the intelligence that she had yesterday received a call from her revered husband’s quondam friend, Lord Mauleverer.
“尊敬的贾米森夫人刚刚从我这里走；在谈话中，她告诉我，昨天她尊敬的丈夫的昔日朋友莫勒韦勒勋爵来拜访了她。
You will not easily conjecture what brought his lordship within the precincts of our little town.
你很难猜到是什么原因让勋爵来到我们这个小镇。
It was to see Captain Brown, with whom, it appears, his lordship was acquainted in the ‘plumed wars,’ and who had the privilege of averting destruction from his lordship’s head when some great peril was impending over it, off the misnomered Cape of Good Hope.
是为了去见布朗上尉，似乎他曾在“拿破仑战争”中与勋爵相识，并且当勋爵面临某种巨大危险时，上尉荣幸地帮勋爵避开了灭顶之灾，当时他们正离开那个名不副实的好望角。
You know our friend the Honourable Mrs Jamieson’s deficiency in the spirit of innocent curiosity, and you will therefore not be so much surprised when I tell you she was quite unable to disclose to me the exact nature of the peril in question.
你知道，我们的朋友，尊敬的贾米森夫人，她缺乏天真好奇的精神，所以当我告诉你，她完全无法向我告知这个危险的确切性质时，你就不会那么惊讶了。
I was anxious, I confess, to ascertain in what manner Captain Brown, with his limited establishment, could receive so distinguished a guest;
我承认，我很想知道，布朗上尉的条件有限，他会以何种方式接待这位尊贵的客人。
and I discovered that his lordship retired to rest, and, let us hope, to refreshing slumbers, at the Angel Hotel; but shared the Brunonian meals during the two days that he honoured Cranford with his august presence.
我发现，勋爵在安琪尔旅馆就寝，但愿他能睡个好觉，但在他莅临克兰福德的两天里，他和布朗一家一起用餐。
Mrs Johnson, our civil butcher’s wife, informs me that Miss Jessie purchased a leg of lamb; but, besides this, I can hear of no preparation whatever to give a suitable reception to so distinguished a visitor.
小镇屠夫的妻子约翰逊夫人告诉我，杰西小姐买了一条羊腿；但是除此之外，我没有听说任何为了周到接待此贵客而做的准备。
Perhaps they entertained him with ‘the feast of reason and the flow of soul’; and to us, who are acquainted with Captain Brown’s sad want of relish for ‘the pure wells of English undefiled,’ it may be matter for congratulation that he has had the opportunity of improving his taste by holding converse with an elegant and refined member of the British aristocracy.
也许他们用“理性的盛宴和灵魂的流淌”来招待他；而对于我们这些熟悉布朗上尉，知道他可悲地缺乏对“未受玷污的纯正英语清泉”的品味，他有机会能与一位优雅而高贵的英国贵族交谈来提高自己的品味，这可能是值得庆幸的事情吧。
But from some mundane failings who is altogether free?”
但是，谁能完全摆脱一些世俗的失败呢？”
Miss Pole and Miss Matty wrote to me by the same post.
波尔小姐和玛蒂小姐的信在同一个邮寄时间段送达。
Such a piece of news as Lord Mauleverer’s visit was not to be lost on the Cranford letter-writers: they made the most of it.
莫勒韦勒勋爵来访的消息，克兰福德的写信人是不会错过的：她们浓墨重彩地描述了这个消息。
Miss Matty humbly apologised for writing at the same time as her sister, who was so much more capable than she to describe the honour done to Cranford;
马蒂小姐谦卑地为自己和姐姐同时写信而道歉，因为姐姐比她更有能力描述克兰福德所受到的荣誉；
but in spite of a little bad spelling, Miss Matty’s account gave me the best idea of the commotion occasioned by his lordship’s visit, after it had occurred; for, except the people at the Angel, the Browns, Mrs Jamieson, and a little lad his lordship had sworn at for driving a dirty hoop against the aristocratic legs, I could not hear of any one with whom his lordship had held conversation.
但是尽管拼写有点糟糕，马蒂小姐的叙述还是让我最清楚地了解了勋爵来访后引起的骚动；因为除了安琪尔酒店的人、布朗一家、贾米森夫人和一个被勋爵骂过的小男孩（因为他用一个脏兮兮的铁环撞了这位贵族的腿），我没有听说过勋爵和其他人说过话。
