Chapter XV A Happy Return
第十五章 幸福的回归
Before I left Miss Matty at Cranford everything had been comfortably arranged for her.
在我离开克兰福德、离开马蒂小姐之前,一切都已为她妥善安排好了。
Even Mrs Jamieson’s approval of her selling tea had been gained.
甚至也获得了贾米森夫人对她卖茶叶的许可。
That oracle had taken a few days to consider whether by so doing Miss Matty would forfeit her right to the privileges of society in Cranford.
为了下达这道神谕,贾米森夫人花了几天时间考虑,马蒂小姐做生意是否会让她丧失在克兰福德上流社会中的地位和特权。
I think she had some little idea of mortifying Lady Glenmire by the decision she gave at last; which was to this effect: that whereas a married woman takes her husband’s rank by the strict laws of precedence, an unmarried woman retains the station her father occupied.
我认为她最终做出的决定,多少有点想让格兰米尔夫人难堪的意思,她的决定是这样的:已婚妇女根据严格的优先顺位规定,应随丈夫的地位,而未婚女子则保留她父亲的地位。
So Cranford was allowed to visit Miss Matty; and, whether allowed or not, it intended to visit Lady Glenmire.
所以克兰福德人被允许去拜访马蒂小姐;而且不管是否被允许,克兰福德人都打算也去拜访格兰米尔夫人。
But what was our surprise—our dismay—when we learnt that Mr and "Mrs Hoggins" were returning on the following Tuesday!
但是当我们得知霍金斯先生和“霍金斯夫人”将于下周二返回克兰福德时,我们是多么惊讶和多么沮丧啊!
Mrs Hoggins! Had she absolutely dropped her title, and so, in a spirit of bravado, cut the aristocracy to become a Hoggins!
霍金斯夫人!她真的放弃了自己的头衔吗?而且她是不是出于虚张声势,与贵族决裂了,变成了霍金斯家的人!
She, who might have been called Lady Glenmire to her dying day!
而她本来也许至死都会被人称作格兰米尔夫人!
Mrs Jamieson was pleased.
贾米森夫人很高兴。
She said it only convinced her of what she had known from the first, that the creature had a low taste.
她说这只让她更加坚信自己一开始就知道的事情,那就是霍金斯这个家伙品味低俗。
But “the creature” looked very happy on Sunday at church; nor did we see it necessary to keep our veils down on that side of our bonnets on which Mr and Mrs Hoggins sat, as Mrs Jamieson did; thereby missing all the smiling glory of his face, and all the becoming blushes of hers.
但是“那家伙”星期天在教堂里看起来非常高兴;我们也不觉得有必要像贾米森夫人那样把帽子上的面纱放下来,刚好挡住霍金斯夫妇坐的那一侧;这样就看不到他脸上灿烂的笑容,也看不到她脸上可爱的红晕了。
I am not sure if Martha and Jem looked more radiant in the afternoon, when they, too, made their first appearance.
我不确定玛莎和杰姆在那天下午是否看起来比霍金斯夫妇更加容光焕发,那时他俩首次成双成对地出现。
Mrs Jamieson soothed the turbulence of her soul by having the blinds of her windows drawn down, as if for a funeral, on the day when Mr and Mrs Hoggins received callers;
贾米森夫人为了平复自己内心的波澜,在霍金斯夫妇接待访客的那天,把家里的百叶窗都拉了下来,就像在办丧事一样。
and it was with some difficulty that she was prevailed upon to continue the St James’s Chronicle, so indignant was she with its having inserted the announcement of the marriage.
她对《圣詹姆斯纪事报》刊登了这则婚讯非常愤怒,费了好大劲才被说服继续订阅这份报纸。
Miss Matty’s sale went off famously.
马蒂小姐变卖东西的事情进行得很顺利。
She retained the furniture of her sitting-room and bedroom; the former of which she was to occupy till Martha could meet with a lodger who might wish to take it; and into this sitting-room and bedroom she had to cram all sorts of things, which were (the auctioneer assured her) bought in for her at the sale by an unknown friend.
她保住了客厅和卧室里的家具;直到玛莎找到一位愿意买下家具的房客之前,她都可以一直使用客厅的家具;而且她不得不把各种各样的东西都塞进客厅和卧室,(拍卖商向她保证)这些东西是一位不知名的朋友在拍卖会上为她买下的。
I always suspected Mrs Fitz-Adam of this; but she must have had an accessory, who knew what articles were particularly regarded by Miss Matty on account of their associations with her early days.
我一直怀疑是菲茨-亚当夫人买的;但她一定有个帮手,这个帮手知道哪些物品与马蒂小姐的早年生活有联系,因此她特别珍视这些东西。
The rest of the house looked rather bare, to be sure; all except one tiny bedroom, of which my father allowed me to purchase the furniture for my occasional use in case of Miss Matty’s illness.
房子的其余部分看起来空空荡荡,这是肯定的;除了一个小卧室,父亲允许我购买一些家具放在这里,马蒂小姐生病时我偶尔过来住会用得上。
I had expended my own small store in buying all manner of comfits and lozenges, in order to tempt the little people whom Miss Matty loved so much to come about her.
我已经花光了自己的小小积蓄,买了各种各样的蜜饯和含片糖果,为的是吸引那些马蒂小姐非常喜欢的小家伙们来找她买东西。
Tea in bright green canisters, and comfits in tumblers—Miss Matty and I felt quite proud as we looked round us on the evening before the shop was to be opened.
茶叶装在亮绿色的罐子里,糖果放在玻璃杯里——在店铺开业的前一天晚上,马蒂小姐和我环顾四周,感到非常自豪。
Martha had scoured the boarded floor to a white cleanness, and it was adorned with a brilliant piece of oil-cloth, on which customers were to stand before the table-counter.
玛莎把木地板擦洗得洁白干净,上面还铺着一块色彩鲜艳的油布,顾客们可以在柜台前站在这块油布上。
The wholesome smell of plaster and whitewash pervaded the apartment.
公寓里弥漫着一股健康的灰泥和石灰水粉刷过的气味。
A very small “Matilda Jenkyns, licensed to sell tea,” was hidden under the lintel of the new door, and two boxes of tea, with cabalistic inscriptions all over them, stood ready to disgorge their contents into the canisters.
一个很小的“玛蒂尔达·詹金斯已获卖茶许可证”的牌子藏在新门的门楣下,两箱印满了神秘文字的茶叶已准备好将其中的茶叶倒入罐子里。