雙語小說連載:《董貝父子》第13章 Part 2

When Perch the messenger, whose place was on a little bracket, like a timepiece, saw Mr Dombey come in - or rather when he felt that he was coming, for he had usually an instinctive sense of his approach - he hurried into Mr Dombey's room, stirred the fire, carried fresh coals from the bowels of the coal-box, hung the newspaper to air upon the fender, put the chair ready, and the screen in its place, and was round upon his heel on the instant of Mr Dombey's entrance, to take his great-coat and hat, and hang them Perch took the newspaper, and gave it a turn or two in his hands before the fire, and laid it, deferentially, at Mr Dombey's elbow. And so little objection had Perch to being deferential in the last degree, that if he might have laid himself at Mr Dombey's feet, or might have called him by some such title as used to be bestowed upon the Caliph Haroun Alraschid, he would have been all the better pleased. As this honour would have been an innovation and an experiment, Perch was fain to content himself by expressing as well as he could, in his manner, You are the light of my Eyes. You are the Breath of my Soul. You are the commander of the Faithful Perch! With this imperfect happiness to cheer him, he would shut the door softly, walk away on tiptoe, and leave his great chief to be stared at, through a dome-shaped window in the leads, by ugly chimney-pots and backs of houses, and especially by the bold window of a hair-cutting saloon on a first floor, where a waxen effigy, bald as a Mussulman in the morning, and covered, after eleven o'clock in the day, with luxuriant hair and whiskers in the latest Christian fashion, showed him the wrong side of its head for ever.

信差珀奇像時鐘一樣，在托架上有一個座位①。當他看到董貝先生進來——或者正確地說，當他感覺到他正在進來，因爲他通常對他的來到有一種直覺——的時候，他就急忙走進董貝先生的房間，捅一捅火，從煤箱的深處挖出新鮮的煤塊，把報紙掛在火爐圍欄上烘暖，把椅子擺好，並把圍屏移到適當的位置；在董貝先生進來的那一瞬間，他立即轉過身去，接下他的厚大衣和帽子，把它們掛好。然後珀奇取下報紙，在爐前把它在手裏轉上一兩轉，畢恭畢敬地放在董貝先生的身邊。珀奇向董貝先生表示最大程度的敬意，他是絲毫也沒有什麼不願意的；如果他可以躺在董貝先生的腳邊，或者可以用人們通常對哈里發何魯納·拉施德②所使用的那樣一些尊稱來稱呼他的話，那麼他就只會感到更加高興。 但由於採用這種致敬的方式將會是一種革新與試驗，所以珀奇樂意按照他自己的方式，用他所能表達的話來滿足自己的心願：“您是我眼睛的亮光。您是我心靈的氣息。您是忠實的珀奇的司令官！”這樣高高興興、但意猶未竟地向他表達敬意之後，他就會輕輕地關上門，踮着腳走出去，把他偉大的老闆留下，讓醜陋的煙囪頂管、房屋的後牆、特別是二層樓理髮廳的一扇突出的窗子，通過圓頂形的窗子，凝視着他（那理髮廳裏有一個蠟象，早上像穆斯林一樣，頭光禿禿的，十一點鐘以後則仿照基督徒最時新的式樣，蓄着連鬢鬍子，它永遠向董貝先生顯露出它的後腦殼）。

Between Mr Dombey and the common world, as it was accessible through the medium of the outer office - to which Mr Dombey's presence in his own room may be said to have struck like damp, or cold air - there were two degrees of descent. Mr Carker in his own office was the first step; Mr Morfin, in his own office, was the second. Each of these gentlemen occupied a little chamber like a bath-room, opening from the passage outside Mr Dombey's door. Mr Carker, as Grand Vizier, inhabited the room that was nearest to the Sultan. Mr Morfin, as an officer of inferior state, inhabited the room that was nearest to the clerks.

董貝先生與普通世界之間有兩級階梯（因爲要通過外面的辦公室才能到達那個世界，而董貝先生在他自己的房間中，對外面的辦公室來說可以說是潑上了冷水或者吹去了冷空氣一樣）。在自己辦公室中的卡克先生是第一級階梯；在自己辦公室中的莫芬先生是第二階梯。這兩位先生每人都有一個像浴室般大小的房間，房門通向董貝先生門外的過道。作爲內閣總理的卡克先生待在最挨近皇帝的房間裏；作爲職位略低的官員，莫芬先生待在最挨近職員們的房間裏。

The gentleman last mentioned was a cheerful-looking, hazel-eyed elderly bachelor: gravely attired, as to his upper man, in black; and as to his legs, in pepper-and-salt colour. His dark hair was just touched here and there with specks of gray, as though the tread of Time had splashed it; and his whiskers were already white. He had a mighty respect for Mr Dombey, and rendered him due homage; but as he was of a genial temper himself, and never wholly at his ease in that stately presence, he was disquieted by no jealousy of the many conferences enjoyed by Mr Carker, and felt a secret satisfaction in having duties to discharge, which rarely exposed him to be singled out for such distinction. He was a great musical amateur in his way - after business; and had a paternal affection for his violoncello, which was once in every week transported from Islington, his place of abode, to a certain club-room hard by the Bank, where quartettes of the most tormenting and excruciating nature were executed every Wednesday evening by a private party.

最後提到的這位先生是一位神情愉快、眼睛淡褐色、年紀較大的單身漢；他衣着莊重，上半身黑色，腿部是胡椒與鹽的顏色。他的黑髮中間這裏那裏夾雜着灰色的斑點。彷彿是時間老人行進時濺潑上的；他的連鬢鬍子早已白了。他非常尊敬董貝先生，並向他表示適當的順從，但由於他是一位性格愉快的人，在那位莊嚴的人的面前總是感到侷促不安，所以他從來沒有因爲妒嫉卡克先生參加過許多商談而煩惱；由於他必須履行他的職責，他很少得到那份特殊的光榮，他還爲此暗暗感到高興。他在某種程度上是一位偉大的業餘音樂愛好者，對他的大提琴懷着父親般的感情；他每個星期都要把它從他在伊斯靈頓③寓所搬到銀行鄰近的某個俱樂部裏；有一個私人樂團每星期三晚上都在那裏演出最令人傷心斷腸的四重奏。

--------

①有一種小鐘是擺放在托架上的，稱爲托架小鐘（bracketclock）。

②《天方夜譚》（或譯《一千零一夜》）故事中的一位阿拉伯國王。在阿拉伯語中，哈里發是王位繼承人的意思，後成爲阿拉伯國王的通稱。

③伊斯靈頓（Islington）：英格蘭大倫敦內一自治市。

註釋：carry vt. 拿，扛；攜帶；支持；搬運
vi. 能達到；被攜帶；被搬運
n. 運載；[計] 進位；射程
[ 複數carries 過去式carried 過去分詞carried 現在分詞carrying ]
例句：
(1) I need you to carry all the bags.
我需要你幫我提所有的包。
(2) Don't carry too much money.
別帶太多錢在身上。
(3) I am sorry we don't carry that brand.
我很抱歉我們沒有這種牌子。
(4) If one engine fails, the other can carry on.
如果一臺引擎失靈，另一臺還能夠繼續工作。
(5) Others carry silver in hopes of finding money.
也有人會帶上銀製品，希望能夠發財。
(6) We bought the bookcases in the new cash and carry.
我們在這個新開的現款取貨商店買了這幾個書櫥。
(7) The foundation is going to carry out a large study.
基金會準備進行一個大型調查。
(8) Many now carry little or no inventory to save money.
許多公司爲了省錢而保持低庫存或零庫存。

expose
vt. 揭露，揭發；使曝光；顯示
[ 過去式exposed 過去分詞exposed 現在分詞exposing ]
例句：
(1) Don't expose it to the sunlight.
不要把它暴露在陽光下。
(2) The street expose the lonely face.
街道袒露出它孤獨的面容。
(3) When will the government expose that?
政府什麼時候揭發這個？
(4) Children shouldn't expose to tv too much.
不要讓孩子看太多電視。
(5) We should expose the children to new ideas.
我們應該讓孩子們接觸新思想。
(6) Instead, slowly expose her to your existence.
相反，你應該慢慢地讓她知道你的存在。
(7) The battery would expose as being overcharged.
電池充電過度可能會發生爆裂。
(8) Her youth and beauty will expose her to many danger.
她的年青與美麗將使她面對許多危險。