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Mrs Jamieson’s drawing-room was cheerful; the evening sun came streaming into it, and the large square window was clustered round with flowers.
贾米森夫人的客厅温馨宜人；傍晚的阳光倾泻进来，方形大窗户周围簇拥着鲜花。
The furniture was white and gold; not the later style, Louis Quatorze, I think they call it, all shells and twirls; no, Mrs Jamieson’s chairs and tables had not a curve or bend about them.
家具是白色和金色的；不是后期风格，我想应该是路易十四风格，全是贝壳和卷曲的纹饰；但贾米森夫人的椅子和桌子没有一点曲线或弯曲的形状。
The chair and table legs diminished as they neared the ground, and were straight and square in all their corners.
椅子和桌子的腿在靠近地面时逐渐变细，所有边角都是笔直和方形的。
The chairs were all a-row against the walls, with the exception of four or five which stood in a circle round the fire.
椅子都靠墙一字排开，只有四五把围成一圈放在炉火旁。
They were railed with white bars across the back and knobbed with gold; neither the railings nor the knobs invited to ease.
椅背有白色的横档，上面装饰着金色的球形捏手；但是无论是横档还是球形捏手，都不能给人带来舒适感。
There was a japanned table devoted to literature, on which lay a Bible, a Peerage, and a Prayer-Book.
有一张日本漆器桌子专门用来放文学作品，上面放着一本《圣经》、一本《贵族名册》和一本《祈祷书》。
There was another square Pembroke table dedicated to the Fine Arts, on which were a kaleidoscope, conversation-cards, puzzle-cards (tied together to an interminable length with faded pink satin ribbon), and a box painted in fond imitation of the drawings which decorate tea-chests.
还有一张彭布罗克牌方桌专门用来摆放艺术品，上面有一个万花筒、一些会话卡片、一些拼图卡片（用一条很长的褪色粉色缎带绑在一起），还有一个盒子，漆得很像装饰茶叶盒的图画。
Carlo lay on the worsted-worked rug, and ungraciously barked at us as we entered.
卡洛躺在精纺毛织的地毯上，我们进来时，它毫不客气地朝我们狂吠。
Mrs Jamieson stood up, giving us each a torpid smile of welcome, and looking helplessly beyond us at Mr Mulliner, as if she hoped he would place us in chairs, for, if he did not, she never could.
贾米森夫人站起身来，朝我们每人懒懒地微笑了一下表示欢迎，然后无助地看着我们身后的穆利纳先生，仿佛希望他能给我们安排座位，因为如果他不安排，她是绝对不能自己安排的。
I suppose he thought we could find our way to the circle round the fire, which reminded me of Stonehenge, I don’t know why.
我想他以为我们可以自己在炉火边的一圈椅子上找座位坐下，不知道为什么，这一圈椅子让我想起了巨石阵。
Lady Glenmire came to the rescue of our hostess, and, somehow or other, we found ourselves for the first time placed agreeably, and not formally, in Mrs Jamieson’s house.
格兰米尔夫人来给女主人解了围，不知怎么的，我们发现自己第一次在贾米森夫人家中被安排愉快地落座，而不是正式地就座。
Lady Glenmire, now we had time to look at her, proved to be a bright little woman of middle age, who had been very pretty in the days of her youth, and who was even yet very pleasant-looking.
格兰米尔夫人，现在我们有时间端详她了，原来是个聪明伶俐的中年小个子女人，年轻时一定很漂亮，即使现在看上去也很讨人喜欢。
I saw Miss Pole appraising her dress in the first five minutes, and I take her word when she said the next day— “My dear! Ten pounds would have purchased every stitch she had on—lace and all.”
我看到波尔小姐在最开始的五分钟内就在打量她的衣着，我相信她第二天所说的话：“亲爱的！只用十英镑就可以买下她身上的每一针每一线——包括蕾丝和所有的东西。”
It was pleasant to suspect that a peeress could be poor, and partly reconciled us to the fact that her husband had never sat in the House of Lords; which, when we first heard of it, seemed a kind of swindling us out of our prospects on false pretences; a sort of “A Lord and No Lord” business.
怀疑一位贵族夫人可能很贫穷，这让人感到愉快，也让我们在一定程度上接受了她丈夫从未进入上议院的事实；当我们第一次听说这件事时，感觉似乎受到欺骗且失望，有点像“有贵族头衔但无贵族财富”的情况。
We were all very silent at first.
我们一开始都非常沉默。
We were thinking what we could talk about, that should be high enough to interest My Lady.
我们在想可以谈论什么，什么话题能足够高雅，能引起尊贵夫人的兴趣。
There had been a rise in the price of sugar, which, as preserving-time was near, was a piece of intelligence to all our house-keeping hearts, and would have been the natural topic if Lady Glenmire had not been by.
最近糖价上涨了，由于做果酱的时间临近，这对我们所有持家的人来说都是一条重要消息，如果格兰米尔夫人不在场，这本来是很自然的话题。
But we were not sure if the peerage ate preserves—much less knew how they were made.
但是我们不确定贵族是否吃果酱——可能更不知道果酱是如何制作的。
At last, Miss Pole, who had always a great deal of courage and savoir faire, spoke to Lady Glenmire, who on her part had seemed just as much puzzled to know how to break the silence as we were.
最后，一向非常勇敢且人情练达的波尔小姐和格兰米尔夫人说起话来，而格兰米尔夫人似乎也和我们一样，不知道如何打破沉默。
“Has your ladyship been to Court lately?” asked she; and then gave a little glance round at us, half timid and half triumphant, as much as to say, “See how judiciously I have chosen a subject befitting the rank of the stranger.”
“夫人，您最近去过宫廷里吗？”她问道；接着向我们匆匆扫了一眼，眼神中半是羞怯，半是得意，仿佛在说：“瞧，我选的话题多明智啊，正适合这位贵客的身份。”
“I never was there in my life,” said Lady Glenmire, with a broad Scotch accent, but in a very sweet voice.
“我这辈子都没去过。”格兰米尔夫人说道，带着浓重的苏格兰口音，但声音非常甜美。
And then, as if she had been too abrupt, she added: “We very seldom went to London—only twice, in fact, during all my married life; and before I was married my father had far too large a family” (fifth daughter of Mr Campbell was in all our minds, I am sure) “to take us often from our home, even to Edinburgh.
然后，仿佛她刚才的语气过于唐突了，她补充道：“我们很少去伦敦——实际上，在我结婚后一共只去过两次；而在我结婚之前，我父亲有一大家子人”（我敢肯定，我们大家心里都想着她是坎贝尔先生的第五个女儿）“就算是带全家人去爱丁堡也很不方便。
Ye’ll have been in Edinburgh, maybe?” said she, suddenly brightening up with the hope of a common interest.
你们可能去过爱丁堡吧？”她说，以为我们有了共同的兴趣，她突然高兴起来。
We had none of us been there; but Miss Pole had an uncle who once had passed a night there, which was very pleasant.
我们谁也没去过那儿；不过波尔小姐有个叔叔，有一次在爱丁堡过了一夜，觉得那里非常令人愉快。
Mrs Jamieson, meanwhile, was absorbed in wonder why Mr Mulliner did not bring the tea; and at length the wonder oozed out of her mouth.
与此同时，贾米森太太正全神贯注地想，为什么穆利纳先生还不把茶端来；最后，这疑惑从她口中冒了出来。
“I had better ring the bell, my dear, had not I?” said Lady Glenmire briskly.
“我最好拉铃叫他，亲爱的，是不是？”格兰米尔夫人轻快地说。
“No—I think not—Mulliner does not like to be hurried.”
“不——我想不了——穆利纳不喜欢被催促。”
We should have liked our tea, for we dined at an earlier hour than Mrs Jamieson.
我们本来很想用些茶点，因为我们比贾米森夫人吃饭时间更早一些。
I suspect Mr Mulliner had to finish the St James’s Chronicle before he chose to trouble himself about tea.
我猜穆利纳先生得先看完《圣詹姆斯纪事报》，才会操心喝茶的事。
His mistress fidgeted and fidgeted, and kept saying, “I can’t think why Mulliner does not bring tea. I can’t think what he can be about.”
他的女主人坐立不安，不停地说：“我不明白为什么穆利纳还不送茶来。我想不出他在忙什么。”
And Lady Glenmire at last grew quite impatient, but it was a pretty kind of impatience after all; and she rang the bell rather sharply, on receiving a half-permission from her sister-in-law to do so.
格兰米尔夫人终于变得非常不耐烦了，但是一种相当可爱的不耐烦；她得到了嫂嫂半推半就的许可后，便相当急促地拉了铃。
Mr Mulliner appeared in dignified surprise.
穆利纳先生庄重而惊讶地出现了。
“Oh!” said Mrs Jamieson, “Lady Glenmire rang the bell; I believe it was for tea.”
“哦！”贾米森夫人说，“格兰米尔夫人拉了铃，我想是要上茶了。”
