狄更斯雙語小說:《董貝父子》第38章Part4
'Well, mother!' said Rob, dutifully kissing her; 'how are you, mother?'
'There's my boy!' cried Polly, giving him a hug and a pat on the back. 'Secret! Bless you, father, not he!'
This was intended for Mr Toodle's private edification, but Rob the Grinder, whose withers were not unwrung, caught the words as they were spoken.
'What! father's been a saying something more again me, has he?' cried the injured innocent. 'Oh, what a hard thing it is that when a cove has once gone a little wrong, a cove's own father should be always a throwing it in his face behind his back! It's enough,' cried Rob, resorting to his coat-cuff in anguish of spirit, 'to make a cove go and do something, out of spite!'
'My poor boy!' cried Polly, 'father didn't mean anything.'
'If father didn't mean anything,' blubbered the injured Grinder, 'why did he go and say anything, mother? Nobody thinks half so bad of me as my own father does. What a unnatural thing! I wish somebody'd take and chop my head off. Father wouldn't mind doing it, I believe, and I'd much rather he did that than t'other.'
At these desperate words all the young Toodles shrieked; a pathetic effect, which the Grinder improved by ironically adjuring them not to cry for him, for they ought to hate him, they ought, if they was good boys and girls; and this so touched the youngest Toodle but one, who was easily moved, that it touched him not only in his spirit but in his wind too; making him so purple that Mr Toodle in consternation carried him out to the water-butt, and would have put him under the tap, but for his being recovered by the sight of that instrument.
Matters having reached this point, Mr Toodle explained, and the virtuous feelings of his son being thereby calmed, they shook hands, and harmony reigned again.
'Will you do as I do, Biler, my boy?' inquired his father, returning to his tea with new strength.
'No, thank'ee, father. Master and I had tea together.'
'And how is master, Rob?' said Polly.
'Well, I don't know, mother; not much to boast on. There ain't no bis'ness done, you see. He don't know anything about it - the Cap'en don't. There was a man come into the shop this very day, and says, "I want a so-and-so," he says - some hard name or another. "A which?" says the Cap'en. "A so-and-so," says the man. "Brother," says the Cap'en, "will you take a observation round the shop." "Well," says the man, "I've done" "Do you see wot you want?" says the Cap'en "No, I don't," says the man. "Do you know it wen you do see it?" says the Cap'en. "No, I don't," says the man. "Why, then I tell you wot, my lad," says the Cap'en, "you'd better go back and ask wot it's like, outside, for no more don't I!"'
'That ain't the way to make money, though, is it?' said Polly.
'Money, mother! He'll never make money. He has such ways as I never see. He ain't a bad master though, I'll say that for him. But that ain't much to me, for I don't think I shall stop with him long.'
'Not stop in your place, Rob!' cried his mother; while Mr Toodle opened his eyes.
'Not in that place, p'raps,' returned the Grinder, with a wink. 'I shouldn't wonder - friends at court you know - but never you mind, mother, just now; I'm all right, that's all.'
The indisputable proof afforded in these hints, and in the Grinder's mysterious manner, of his not being subject to that failing which Mr Toodle had, by implication, attributed to him, might have led to a renewal of his wrongs, and of the sensation in the family, but for the opportune arrival of another visitor, who, to Polly's great surprise, appeared at the door, smiling patronage and friendship on all there.
'How do you do, Mrs Richards?' said Miss Tox. 'I have come to see you. May I come in?'
“媽媽！”羅布孝順地吻着她，說道，”你好嗎，媽媽？”
“我的好孩子！”波利把他緊緊地抱了一抱，並在他的背上輕輕地拍了一拍，喊道，”神祕兮兮，不好捉摸！上帝保佑你，爸爸，他一點也不是！”
這些話是說來開導圖德爾先生的，可是磨工羅布對於責難並不是滿不在乎的，所以立即就抓住了這些話。
“什麼！爸爸又在說我的壞話了，是不是？”無辜地受了委屈的人喊道，”啊，一個小夥子有一段時候走錯了一點路，他的親爸爸卻老拿這件事當面和背地裏責罵他，這是多麼刻薄無情啊！”羅布心情極度痛苦，用袖口擦着眼淚，說道，”這足夠使一個小夥子爲了泄憤，跑出去乾點什麼事來了。”
“我可憐的孩子！”波利喊道，”爸爸根本就沒有責怪你的意思。”
“如果爸爸根本沒有責怪我的意思，”受了委屈的磨工哇哇大哭地說道，”那麼他爲什麼要說出這些話來呢，媽媽？沒有什麼人比我的親爸爸把我看得這麼壞，連一半也沒有！這是多麼不合常情的事啊！我真巴不得有什麼人會抓住我，把我的頭給砍掉。我相信，爸爸對這決不會反對的，我真願意由他而不是由別人來砍！”
聽到這些悲觀絕望的話之後，所有的小圖德爾們都尖聲喊叫起來，磨工諷刺地懇求他們別爲他痛哭，因爲他們應當憎恨他--如果他們是好男孩和好女孩的話，那就應當這樣--。這進一步增強了傷感的效果。第二個最小的圖德爾是容易感動的，這些話深深地打動了他，不僅打動了他的心靈，而且還影響了他的呼吸，使得他的臉色十分發紫，因此圖德爾先生驚慌地把他拉到屋外接雨的水桶那裏；要不是他一見到那個容器就恢復過來的話，圖德爾先生本想把他按到水龍頭底下去的。
事情到了這個地步，圖德爾先生就做了解釋；當他兒子想做一位有道德的人的感情得到了撫慰，平靜下來之後，他們相互握手，於是房間裏又是一片和諧的氣氛。
“你是不是跟我一樣，也喝點茶，拜勒，我的孩子？”父親又重新興趣濃厚地轉向他的茶水，問道。
“不，謝謝您，爸爸，主人和我已經一起喝過茶了。”
“主人?怎?麼?樣，羅布？”波利問道。
“唔，我不知道，媽媽；沒有什麼好誇耀的。你知道，那裏沒有生意。他，船長，對生意一竅不通。就在今天，有一個人到店裏來，說，‘我想要個某某東西，’他說，--說了一個難懂的名稱；‘什麼？’船長問道，‘某某東西，’那人說；‘老弟，’船長說，‘是不是請您看一看店裏的東西？’‘唔，’；那人說，‘我已經看過了’；‘你看到你所需要的東西了嗎？’船長問道；‘沒有，我沒有看到，’那人說；‘您是不是一看到這個東西就認識它了？’船長問道；‘不，我不認識，’那人說；‘唔，那麼我要對您說，我的朋友，’船長說道，‘您最好回去問一下它的形狀是怎麼樣的，因爲我也一樣不認識！’”
“這樣就賺不到錢了，是不是？”波利說道。
“錢，媽媽！他永選也賺不到錢。我從沒見過像他那樣爲人處事的。不過我還得替他說一句，他不是個壞主人。不過這對我無關緊要，因爲我想我不會長久跟他待在一起的。”
“不待在你那個地方嗎，羅布！”他的母親喊道；圖德爾先生則睜大了眼睛。
“也許不在那個地方，”磨工使了個眼色，回答道，”我將不會奇怪--你知道，宮廷裏的朋友--，可是現在你別管這；我一切都很好，這就是我要說的一切。”
磨工的這些暗示和神祕姿態，提供了一個無可爭論的證據，說明他的確是有着圖德爾先生含蓄地指出的他的那種缺點；如果這時不是湊巧來了另一個人的話，那麼這些暗示和姿態本來又會使他遭受到新的委屈，家裏又會重新轟動一番的。這位客人使波利大爲驚奇地出現在門口，對所有在場的人露出賜加恩惠與友誼的微笑。
“您好嗎，理查茲大嫂？”托克斯小姐問道，”我來看看您。可以進來嗎？”
