The war went on, successfully for the most part, but people had stopped saying “One more victory and the war is over,” just as they had stopped saying the Yankees were cowards. —
战争仍在继续，在很大程度上取得了成功，但是人们已经不再说“再取得一次胜利，战争就结束了”，就像人们不再说南方连队是胆小鬼一样。 —

It was obvious to all now that the Yankees were far from cowardly and that it would take more than one victory to conquer them. —
现在显而易见的是，南方连队远非胆小鬼，需要更多的胜利才能征服他们。 —

However, there were the Confederate victories in Tennessee scored by General Morgan and General Forrest and the triumph at the Second Battle of Bull Run hung up like visible Yankee scalps to gloat over. —
然而，摩根将军和福雷斯特将军在田纳西州取得了南方的胜利，第二次布尔尼角战役的胜利就像一串可见的北方人的头发一样，用来炫耀。 —

But there was a heavy price on these scalps. —
但是这些头发的代价很高。 —

The hospitals and homes of Atlanta were overflowing with the sick and wounded, and more and more women were appearing in black. —
亚特兰大的医院和家庭里挤满了病人和受伤的人，越来越多的妇女穿着黑衣出现。 —

The monotonous rows of soldiers’ graves at Oakland Cemetery stretched longer every day.
亚特兰大的奥克兰公墓里单调的士兵坟墓越来越长。

Confederate money had dropped alarmingly and the price of food and clothing had risen accordingly. —
南方的货币急剧贬值，食品和衣物的价格也相应上涨。 —

The commissary was laying such heavy levies on foodstuffs that the tables of Atlanta were beginning to suffer. —
军需部对粮食征收的税太重，以至于亚特兰大的餐桌开始受到影响。 —

White flour was scarce and so expensive that corn bread was universal instead of biscuits, rolls and waffles. —
面粉稀缺且价格昂贵，玉米面包普遍取代了饼干、面包卷和华夫饼。 —

The butcher shops carried almost no beef and very little mutton, and that mutton cost so much only the rich could afford it. —
肉店几乎没有牛肉，羊肉也很少，而且羊肉价格昂贵，只有富人才买得起。 —

However there was still plenty of hog meat, as well as chickens and vegetables.
不过猪肉、鸡肉和蔬菜仍然很丰富。

The Yankee blockade about the Confederate ports had tightened, and luxuries such as tea, coffee, silks, whalebone stays, colognes, fashion magazines and books were scarce and dear. —
北方联邦对南方港口的封锁已经加紧，而茶叶、咖啡、丝绸、鲸骨衬衣、古龙水、时尚杂志和书籍等奢侈品变得稀缺且昂贵。 —

Even the cheapest cotton goods had skyrocketed in price and ladies were regretfully making their old dresses do another season. —
就连最便宜的棉制品价格也飞涨，女士们只能遗憾地延用旧服装过上一个季节。 —

Looms that had gathered dust for years had been brought down from attics, and there were webs of homespun to be found in nearly every parlor. —
很多年来一直闲置的织布机被从阁楼拿了下来，几乎在每个客厅都可以找到一些自家纺织的布料。 —

Everyone, soldiers, civilians, women, children and negroes, began to wear homespun. —
士兵、平民、妇女、儿童和黑奴，每个人都开始穿自家纺织的布料。 —

Gray, as the color of the Confederate uniform, practically disappeared and homespun of a butternut shade took its place.
灰色，作为南方联邦军队的制服颜色，几乎消失了，而代之以一种核桃褐色的自家纺织布料。

Already the hospitals were worrying about the scarcity of quinine, calomel, opium, chloroform and iodine. —
医院已经开始担心金鸡纳霜、口服汞、鸦片、氯仿和碘的短缺问题。 —

Linen and cotton bandages were too precious now to be thrown away when used, and every lady who nursed at the hospitals brought home baskets of bloody strips to be washed and ironed and returned for use on other sufferers.
现在亚麻和棉质绷带太贵重了，使用后也不能随意丢弃，每个在医院工作的女士都会带回家一篮子鲜血斑斑的布条，以便清洗、熨烫并用于其他病人。

But to Scarlett, newly emerged from the chrysalis of widowhood, all the war meant was a time of gaiety and excitement. —
但对于刚从丧偶的蛹中蜕变出来的斯嘉丽来说，战争只是一个快乐和激动的时刻。 —

Even the small privations of clothing and food did not annoy her, so happy was she to be in the world again.
即使是衣食方面的小牺牲，她也不会感到烦恼，因为她很高兴能够重新活在这个世界上。

When she thought of the dull times of the past year, with the days going by one very much like another, life seemed to have quickened to an incredible speed. —
当她想起过去一年里无聊的日子，每天过得都一模一样，生活仿佛加快了难以置信的速度。 —

Every day dawned as an exciting adventure, a day in which she would meet new men who would ask to call on her, tell her how pretty she was, and how it was a privilege to fight and, perhaps, to die for her. —
每天都是一个令人兴奋的冒险之旅，她会遇到新的男人，他们会要求拜访她，告诉她她有多漂亮，为她而战甚至为她而死是一种荣幸。 —

She could and did love Ashley with the last breath in her body, but that did not prevent her from inveigling other men into asking to marry her.
她能够并且确实用她最后一口气爱着阿什利，但这并不妨碍她引诱其他男人向她求婚。

The ever-present war in the background lent a pleasant informality to social relations, an informality which older people viewed with alarm. —
背景中始终存在的战争给社交关系带来了一种愉快的不拘礼节，而年长者则对此持警惕态度。 —

Mothers found strange men calling on their daughters, men who came without letters of introduction and whose antecedents were unknown. —
母亲们发现陌生男人来拜访她们的女儿，这些男人来者没有介绍信，背景也不为人所知。 —

To their horror, mothers found their daughters holding hands with these men. —
使她们震惊的是，母亲们发现自己的女儿与这些男人牵手。 —

Mrs. Merriwether, who had never kissed her husband until after the wedding ceremony, could scarcely believe her eyes when she caught Maybelle kissing the little Zouave, Rene Picard, and her consternation was even greater when Maybelle refused to be ashamed. —
梅里韦瑟夫人甚至不敢相信自己的眼睛，当她看到梅贝尔亲吻小祖安兵马统领雷内·皮卡尔时，她的惊愕更大了，当梅贝尔拒绝感到羞愧时，她更加惊愕。 —

Even the fact that Rene immediately asked for her hand did not improve matters. —
即使是雷内立即向她求婚也没有改善情况。 —

Mrs. Merriwether felt that the South was heading for a complete moral collapse and frequently said so. —
梅里韦瑟夫人认为南方正在走向完全的道德崩溃，并经常这么说。 —

Other mothers concurred heartily with her and blamed it on the war.
其他母亲都同意并归咎于战争。

But men who expected to die within a week or a month could not wait a year before they begged to call a girl by her first name, with “Miss,” of course, preceding it. —
但是那些预计会在一周或一个月内死去的男人不能等上一年才求允许称呼一个女孩的名字，当然是以“小姐”为前缀。 —

Nor would they go through the formal and protracted courtships which good manners had prescribed before the war. —
他们不会遵循战前良好礼仪规定的正式而冗长的求婚过程。 —

They were likely to propose in three or four months. —
他们可能会在三到四个月内求婚。 —

And girls who knew very well that a lady always refused a gentleman the first three times he proposed rushed headlong to accept the first time.
那些很清楚淑女在第一次求婚时总会拒绝绅士的女孩们，一头扑向了第一次求婚。

This informality made the war a lot of fun for Scarlett. —
这种非正式让战争成为斯嘉丽的乐园。 —

Except for the messy business of nursing and the bore of bandage rolling, she did not care if the war lasted forever. —
除了护理的繁杂工作和卷绷带的无聊，她并不在乎战争永远持续下去。 —

In fact, she could endure the hospital with equanimity now because it was a perfect happy hunting ground. —
事实上，她现在能冷静地忍受医院，因为这是一个完美的优越场所。 —

The helpless wounded succumbed to her charms without a struggle. —
那些无助的伤员毫无抵抗地屈服于她的魅力。 —

Renew their bandages, wash their faces, pat up their pillows and fan them, and they fell in love. —
更换他们的绷带、洗脸、整理枕头、给他们扇风，然后他们相爱了。 —

Oh, it was Heaven after the last dreary year!
哦，这是在最后一年之后的天堂！

Scarlett was back again where she had been before she married Charles and it was as if she had never married him, never felt the shock of his death, never borne Wade. War and marriage and childbirth had passed over her without touching any deep chord within her and she was unchanged. —
斯嘉丽又回到了婚姻之前的地方，仿佛她从未嫁给查尔斯，从未感受到他的死亡的冲击，从未生育韦德。战争、婚姻和生育并没有触动她内心的深弦，她没有改变。 —

She had a child but he was cared for so well by the others in the red brick house she could almost forget him. —
她有一个孩子，但他被红砖房子里的其他人照顾得很好，她几乎可以忘记他的存在。 —

In her mind and heart, she was Scarlett O’Hara again, the belle of the County. —
在她的内心深处，她又成为了斯嘉丽·奥哈拉，县城的美人。 —

Her thoughts and activities were the same as they had been in the old days, but the field of her activities had widened immensely. —
她的思想和活动与从前一样，但她的活动范围扩大了很多。 —

Careless of the disapproval of Aunt Pitty’s friends, she behaved as she had behaved before her marriage, went to parties, danced, went riding with soldiers, flirted, did everything she had done as a girl, except stop wearing mourning. —
不管艾蒂皮蒂姨妈的朋友们怎么不满，她还是像结婚前一样行为放荡，去参加派对，跳舞，和士兵一起骑马，调情，做着她小时候做的一切，只是不再停止穿着丧服。 —

This she knew would be a straw that would break the backs of Pittypat and Melanie. —
她明白这会是压垮皮蒂帕特和梅兰妮的最后一根稻草。 —

She was as charming a widow as she had been a girl, pleasant when she had her own way, obliging as long as it did not discommode her, vain of her looks and her popularity.
她是一个迷人的寡妇，像小时候一样讨人喜欢，只要事情不给她添麻烦，她就会很随和。她对自己的相貌和受欢迎程度感到自豪。

She was happy now where a few weeks before she had been miserable, happy with her beaux and their reassurances of her charm, as happy as she could be with Ashley married to Melanie and in danger. —
过去几周她还很痛苦，现在她很快乐，有着自己的舞伴，还有他们对她魅力的保证，尽管艾希利已婚并处于危险之中，她还是感到幸福。 —

But somehow it was easier to bear the thought of Ashley belonging to some one else when he was far away. —
不过当艾希利远离时，她更容易忍受他属于别人的想法。 —

With the hundreds of miles stretching between Atlanta and Virginia, he sometimes seemed as much hers as Melanie’s.
随着亚特兰大和弗吉尼亚之间数百英里的距离，他有时候似乎和梅兰妮一样属于她。

So the autumn months of 1862 went swiftly by with nursing, dancing, driving and bandage rolling taking up all the time she did not spend on brief visits to Tara. These visits were disappointing, for she had little opportunity for the long quiet talks with her mother to which she looked forward while in Atlanta, no time to sit by Ellen while she sewed, smelling the faint fragrance of lemon verbena sachet as her skirts rustled, feeling her soft hands on her cheek in a gentle caress.
所以，1862年的秋天是充满了护理、舞蹈、驾车和绷带卷曲的。她除了在塔拉访问时可以度过的短暂时光之外，其他时间都被占满了。但这些访问令她失望，因为她几乎没有机会与母亲长时间的安静交谈，她在亚特兰大时期非常期待能与母亲坐在一起，闻着柠檬马鞭草袋子里淡淡的香味，感受她轻轻抚摸自己脸颊时那双柔软的手。

Ellen was thin and preoccupied now and on her feet from morning until long after the plantation was asleep. —
爱伦现在瘦弱而心事重重，从早到晚都忙碌于农场事务，甚至在庄园众人已经入睡之后才休息。 —

The demands of the Confederate commissary were growing heavier by the month, and hers was the task of making Tara produce. —
每个月，南方联邦军队的需求越来越大，而她的任务就是让塔拉产出更多。 —

Even Gerald was busy, for the first time in many years, for he could get no overseer to take Jonas Wilkerson’s place and he was riding his own acres. —
甚至杰拉尔德也忙碌起来，这是他多年来的首次，因为没有人愿意接替乔纳斯·威尔克森的工作，他不得不负责自己的土地。 —

With Ellen too busy for more than a goodnight kiss and Gerald in the fields all day, Scarlett found Tara boring. —
由于爱伦整天都忙碌，只能给她一个晚安之吻，而杰拉尔德则整天在农田里，斯佳丽觉得塔拉无聊。 —

Even her sisters were taken up with their own concerns. —
即使她的姐妹们也忙于自己的事情。 —

Suellen had now come to an “understanding” with Frank Kennedy and sang “When This Cruel War Is Over” with an arch meaning Scarlett found well-nigh unendurable, and Carreen was too wrapped up in dreams of Brent Tarleton to be interesting company.
素伦现在与弗兰克·肯尼迪达成了“共识”，高潮经意地演唱着《这场残酷的战争结束时》，这使斯嘉丽几乎无法忍受，而卡琳则沉浸在对布伦特·塔莱顿的梦幻中，不能算是有趣的陪伴。

Though Scarlett always went home to Tara with a happy heart, she was never sorry when the inevitable letters came from Pitty and Melanie, begging her to return. —
尽管斯嘉丽总是满怀喜悦地回到塔拉，但她从皮蒂和梅兰妮那里收到不可避免的信件时，她从未感到后悔地回去。 —

Ellen always sighed at these times, saddened by the thought of her oldest daughter and her only grandchild leaving her.
埃伦总是在这时叹了口气，惋惜地想着她的大女儿和她唯一的孙子离开她。

“But I mustn’t be selfish and keep you here when you are needed to nurse in Atlanta,” she said. —
“但当你被需要在亚特兰大照料病患时，我不该自私地留你在这里，”她说。 —

“Only—only, my darling, it seems that I never get the time to talk to you and to feel that you are my own little girl again before you are gone from me.”
“只是——只是，亲爱的，似乎我从来没有时间和你交谈，感受到你又成了我的小女孩，就在你离开我之前。”

“I’m always your little girl,” Scarlett would say and bury her head upon Ellen’s breast, her guilt rising up to accuse her. —
“我永远是你的小女孩，”斯嘉丽会说，并把头埋在埃伦的胸前，她的内疚感涌上心头。 —

She did not tell her mother that it was the dancing and the beaux which drew her back to Atlanta and not the service of the Confederacy. —
她没有告诉她妈妈，是因为跳舞和追求男人才把她带回亚特兰大，而不是为了南方联盟的事业。 —

There were many things she kept from her mother these days. —
这些天她对她妈妈隐瞒了很多事情。 —

But, most of all, she kept secret the fact that Rhett Butler called frequently at Aunt Pittypat’s house.
但最重要的是，她秘密地保留了雷特·巴特勒频繁拜访她姨婆家的事实。

During the months that followed the bazaar, Rhett called whenever he was in town, taking Scarlett riding in his carriage, escorting her to danceables and bazaars and waiting outside the hospital to drive her home. —
在接下来的几个月里，只要他在城里，雷特就会来找她，带她乘坐他的马车，陪她参加舞会和义卖会，并在医院外等候，开车送她回家。 —

She lost her fear of his betraying her secret, but there always lurked in the back of her mind the disquieting memory that he had seen her at her worst and knew the truth about Ashley. —
她不再担心他会泄露她的秘密，但她心里总是留有一丝不安，他见过她最糟糕的一面，知道关于阿什利的真相。 —

It was this knowledge that checked her tongue when he annoyed her. —
正是这种认知使她在他惹她生气时克制住了自己的嘴。 —

And he annoyed her frequently.
而他经常让她恼火。

He was in his mid-thirties, older than any beau she had ever had, and she was as helpless as a child to control and handle him as she had handled beaux nearer her own age. —
他已经三十多岁了，比她曾经谈过的任何一个追求者都大，她像个孩子一样无法控制和处理他，就像她对待那些年龄相仿的追求者一样。 —

He always looked as if nothing had ever surprised him and much had amused him and, when he had gotten her into a speechless temper, she felt that she amused him more than anything in the world. —
他总是看起来像没有什么可以让他感到惊讶，但很多事情都让他觉得好笑，当他让她陷入无话可说的脾气时，她感觉到自己比世界上任何事情都更让他觉得好笑。 —

Frequently she flared into open wrath under his expert baiting, for she had Gerald’s Irish temper along with the deceptive sweetness of face she had inherited from Ellen. Heretofore she had never bothered to control her temper except in Ellen’s presence. —
经常在他熟练的挑衅下，她会勃然大怒，因为她既有杰拉尔德的爱尔兰脾气，又有艾伦继承的脸上的虚伪甜美。以前她从不费心控制自己的脾气，除非是在艾伦面前。 —

Now it was painful to have to choke back words for fear of his amused grin. —
现在为了不让他得意的笑容看到，她不得不强忍着话语。 —

If only he would ever lose his temper too, then she would not feel at such a disadvantage.
如果他也能发脾气，那她就不会感到这么处于劣势了。

After tilts with him from which she seldom emerged the victor she vowed he was impossible, ill-bred and no gentleman and she would have nothing more to do with him. —
在与他的较量中，她很少能胜出，她发誓他真是不可救药，没教养，一点也不绅士，她再也不会与他有任何瓜葛了。 —

But sooner or later, he returned to Atlanta, called, presumably on Aunt Pitty, and presented Scarlett, with overdone gallantry, a box of bonbons he had brought her from Nassau. —
但是迟早，他会回到亚特兰大，拜访阿姨匹蒂，然后满心殷勤地给斯嘉丽带来从拿骚带回来的一盒糖果。 —

Or preempted a seat by her at a musicale or claimed her at a dance, and she was usually so amused by his bland impudence that she laughed and overlooked his past misdeeds until the next occurred.
当然，他会在音乐会上提前占据一个她的座位，或者在舞会上宣布她是他的人，她常常对他无礼的冲撞感到好笑，笑而不计他过去的错误，直到下一次错误发生。

For all his exasperating qualities, she grew to look forward to his calls. —
尽管他令人恼火的品质，她开始期待他的电话。 —

There was something exciting about him that she could not analyze, something different from any man she had ever known. —
他身上有一种令她无法分析的令人兴奋的东西，与她所认识的任何男人都不同。 —

There was something breathtaking in the grace of his big body which made his very entrance into a room like an abrupt physical impact, something in the impertinence and bland mockery of his dark eyes that challenged her spirit to subdue him.
他修长身躯的优雅令人惊叹，使他走进房间时犹如一股突如其来的身体冲击，他那深邃的眼眸中透着的冒犯和温文傲慢挑战着她的精神。

“It’s almost like I was in love with him!” she thought, bewildered. —
“就像我对他一见钟情了似的！” 她心想，感到困惑。 —

“But I’m not and I just can’t understand it.”
“但我并不是，我就是无法理解这个感觉。”

But the exciting feeling persisted. When he came to call, his complete masculinity made Aunt Pitty’s well-bred and ladylike house seem small, pale and a trifle fusty. —
但这种令人兴奋的感觉仍然持续着。当他来拜访时，他完全的阳刚气息让阿姨皮蒂那种优雅的淑女之家显得渺小、苍白，并且有点发霉。 —

Scarlett was not the only member of the household who reacted strangely and unwillingly to his presence, for he kept Aunt Pitty in a flutter and a ferment.
斯嘉丽不是家里唯一对他的存在有奇怪而不情愿反应的人，因为他也让派蒂姨妈感到不安和不安。

While Pitty knew Ellen would disapprove of his calls on her daughter, and knew also that the edict of Charleston banning him from polite society was not one to be lightly disregarded, she could no more resist his elaborate compliments and hand kissing than a fly can resist a honey pot. —
虽然派蒂知道埃伦会不赞成他拜访她的女儿，也知道查尔斯顿禁止他进入上流社会的法令不容忽视，但她无法抵抗他的华丽恭维和亲吻手的举止，就像苍蝇无法抵挡蜜罐一样。 —

Moreover, he usually brought her some little gift from Nassau which he assured her he had purchased especially for her and blockaded in at risk of his life— papers of pins and needles, buttons, spools of silk thread and hairpins. —
此外，他通常会给她带来一些从拿骚特意为她购买的小礼物，他保证在冒着生命危险的封锁线路运过来-针头和线，纽扣，丝线卷和发夹。 —

It was almost impossible to obtain these small luxuries now—ladies were wearing hand-whittled wooden hairpins and covering acorns with cloth for buttons—and Pitty lacked the moral stamina to refuse them. —
现在几乎无法获得这些小奢侈品了-女士们戴着手工刻制的木发夹，用布料遮盖橡子来当纽扣-而派蒂则缺乏道德意志力来拒绝这些礼物。 —

Besides, she had a childish love of surprise packages and could not resist opening his gifts. —
此外，她对于惊喜包裹有一种孩子般的喜爱，无法抵挡打开他的礼物的诱惑。 —

And, having once opened them, she did not feel that she could refuse them. —
一旦打开它们，她觉得她不能拒绝它们。 —

Then, having accepted his gifts, she could not summon courage enough to tell him his reputation made it improper for him to call on three lone women who had no male protector. —
那么，接受了他的礼物后，她不能鼓起勇气告诉他，由于他的声誉，他不适合拜访没有男性保护者的三个单身女性。 —

Aunt Pitty always felt that she needed a male protector when Rhett Butler was in the house.
当莱特·巴特勒在屋里时，派蒂姨妈总是觉得她需要一个男性保护者。

“I don’t know what it is about him,” she would sigh helplessly. —
“我不知道他有什么特别的地方，”她无助地叹气。 —

“But—well, I think he’d be a nice, attractive man if I could just feel that—well, that deep down in his heart he respected women.”
“但是，唉，如果我能感受到他内心深处对女性的尊重，我想他会是一个不错、有魅力的人。”

Since the return of her wedding ring, Melanie had felt that Rhett was a gentleman of rare refinement and delicacy and she was shocked at this remark. —
自从她收回了结婚戒指以来，梅拉妮一直认为莱特是一个极为细致优雅的绅士，她对这番话感到震惊。 —

He was unfailingly courteous to her, but she was a little timid with him, largely because she was shy with any man she had not known from childhood. —
他对她总是彬彬有礼，但她对他有点胆怯，主要是因为她对于任何不是从童年就认识的男性都很害羞。 —

Secretly she was very sorry for him, a feeling which would have amused him had he been aware of it. —
她私下里为他感到非常遗憾，如果他意识到这一点，他会觉得很有趣。 —

She was certain that some romantic sorrow had blighted his life and made him hard and bitter, and she felt that what he needed was the love of a good woman. —
她确信他的生活被某种浪漫的悲伤所毁，使他变得冷酷和痛苦，而她觉得他需要的是一个好女人的爱。 —

In all her sheltered life she had never seen evil and could scarcely credit its existence, and when gossip whispered things about Rhett and the girl in Charleston she was shocked and unbelieving. —
在她那些被保护的生活中，她从未见过邪恶，几乎不能相信它的存在，当有人传闻关于Rhett和Charleston的女孩的事情时，她感到震惊和难以置信。 —

And, instead of turning her against him, it only made her more timidly gracious toward him because of her indignation at what she fancied was a gross injustice done him.
而且，这不仅没有让她对他产生反感，反而因为她对他所遭受的不公感到愤慨，让她更加温和地对待他。

Scarlett silently agreed with Aunt Pitty. She, too, felt that he had no respect for any woman, unless perhaps for Melanie. —
斯嘉丽默默地同意佩蒂姨妈的看法。她也觉得他对任何女人都没有尊重，除非也许对梅拉妮。 —

She still felt unclothed every time his eyes ran up and down her figure. —
每次他的目光在她身上上下移动时，她仍然感到裸露无遗。 —

It was not that he ever said anything. Then she could have scorched him with hot words. —
不是他说什么。那样的话她可以用激烈的言辞烧毁他。 —

It was the bold way his eyes looked out of his swarthy face with a displeasing air of insolence, as if all women were his property to be enjoyed in his own good time. —
那是他那种胆大妄为的眼神，从他黝黑的脸上直视出来，带着令人不悦的傲慢，好像所有的女人都是他的财产，只有在他自己方便的时候才能享受。 —

Only with Melanie was this look absent. There was never that cool look of appraisal, never mockery in his eyes, when he looked at Melanie; —
只有在面对梅兰妮时，他才不露出那种冷冰冰的评价目光，从未在他看向梅兰妮时见到嘲弄的眼神； —

and there was an especial note in his voice when he spoke to her, courteous, respectful, anxious to be of service.
而每当他跟她说话时，他的声音中都有一种特别的音调，彬彬有礼，恭敬，渴望提供帮助；

“I don’t see why you’re so much nicer to her than to me,” said Scarlett petulantly, one afternoon when Melanie and Pitty had retired to take their naps and she was alone with him.
“我不明白为什么你对她比对我好得多，”一个下午，当梅兰妮和母亲退休小憩时，斯嘉丽不满地说道，她与他独处；

For an hour she had watched Rhett hold the yarn Melanie was winding for knitting, had noted the blank inscrutable expression when Melanie talked at length and with pride of Ashley and his promotion. —
一个小时里，她看着瑞德接过梅兰妮手里绕着线的毛线，注意到当梅兰妮滔滔不绝地自豪地谈论着阿什利和他的晋升时，他的脸上呈现出无动于衷、难以捉摸的表情； —

Scarlett knew Rhett had no exalted opinion of Ashley and cared nothing at all about the fact that he had been made a major. —
斯嘉丽知道瑞德对阿什利并没有崇高的评价，他对阿什利成为了一名少校也毫不在意； —

Yet he made polite replies and murmured the correct things about Ashley’s gallantry.
然而，他彬彬有礼地回应并对阿什利的勇敢说了正确的话；

And if I so much as mention Ashley’s name, she had thought irritably, he cocks his eyebrow up and smiles that nasty, knowing smile!
我一提起阿什利的名字，她恼火地想道，他就会扬起眉毛，露出那种讨厌而洞察力十足的笑容！

“I’m much prettier than she is,” she continued, “and I don’t see why you’re nicer to her.”
“我比她漂亮多了，”她继续说道，“我不明白为什么你对她更友好。”

“Dare I hope that you are jealous?”
“难道我可以希望你嫉妒吗？”

“Oh, don’t presume!”
“哦，别妄自尊大！”

“Another hope crushed. If I am ‘nicer’ to Mrs. Wilkes, it is because she deserves it. —
“又是一次破灭的希望。如果我对威尔克斯夫人更友好，那是因为她值得。” —

She is one of the very few kind, sincere and unselfish persons I have ever known. —
“她是我所认识的极少数善良、真诚和无私的人之一。” —

But perhaps you have failed to note these qualities. —
“但或许你忽略了这些品质。” —

And moreover, for all her youth, she is one of the few great ladies I have ever been privileged to know.”
“而且况且，尽管她还很年轻，她是我有幸认识的为数不多的伟大女士之一。”

“Do you mean to say you don’t think I’m a great lady, too?”
“你是不是意思说你不认为我也是个伟大的女士？”

“I think we agreed on the occasion of our first meeting that you were no lady at all.”
“我记得我们在第一次见面时，我们都同意你根本不是个淑女。”

“Oh, if you are going to be hateful and rude enough to bring that up again! —
“哦，如果你要恶毒和粗鲁到再次提起那件事！ —

How can you hold that bit of childish temper against me? —
“你怎么可以对我那样幼稚的脾气耿耿于怀？ —

That was so long ago and I’ve grown up since then and I’d forget all about it if you weren’t always harping and hinting about it.”
“那已经很久了，我已经长大了，如果你总是揪着不放，我会忘记它的。”

“I don’t think it was childish temper and I don’t believe you’ve changed. —
“我并不认为那是幼稚的脾气，我也不相信你已经改变。” —

You are just as capable now as then of throwing vases if you don’t get your own way. —
现在你和以前一样有能力如果你得不到自己想要的东西就扔花瓶。 —

But you usually get your way now. And so there’s no necessity for broken bric-a-brac.”
但是你现在通常都能得到你想要的。所以没有必要打破摆设。

“Oh, you are—I wish I was a man! I’d call you out and—”
哦，你是这样——我真希望我是个男人！我会找你决斗，然后—

“And get killed for your pains. I can drill a dime at fifty yards. —
然后为你的痛苦而付出生命。我能在五十码外射中一角硬币。 —

Better stick to your own weapons—dimples, vases and the like.”
还是用你自己的武器——笑靥、花瓶之类的吧。

“You are just a rascal.”
你就是个无赖。

“Do you expect me to fly into a rage at that? I am sorry to disappoint you. —
你指望我因此勃然大怒吗？很抱歉让你失望了。 —

You can’t make me mad by calling me names that are true. Certainly I’m a rascal, and why not? —
你不能通过用真实的词语来称呼我的名字让我生气。当然我是无赖，为什么不呢？ —

It’s a free country and a man may be a rascal if he chooses. —
这是个自由的国家，一个人可以选择成为一个无赖。 —

It’s only hypocrites like you, my dear lady, just as black at heart but trying to hide it, who become enraged when called by their right names.”
只有像你这样心黑如炭但试图掩饰的伪君子，才会在被正确称呼时愤怒。

She was helpless before his calm smile and his drawling remarks, for she had never before met anyone who was so completely impregnable. —
他淡定的微笑和慢悠悠的评论让她无法动弹，因为她从未遇到过任何一个如此坚不可摧的人。 —

Her weapons of scorn, coldness and abuse blunted in her hands, for nothing she could say would shame him. —
她手中的轻蔑、冷漠和虐待的武器在她的手中变得钝了，因为无论她说什么，都无法让他感到羞愧。 —

It had been her experience that the liar was the hottest to defend his veracity, the coward his courage, the ill-bred his gentlemanliness, and the cad his honor. —
她的经验告诉她，说谎者最热衷于捍卫自己的真实性，懦夫最热衷于捍卫自己的勇气，粗鲁的人最热衷于捍卫自己的绅士风度，卑鄙的人最热衷于捍卫自己的荣誉。 —

But not Rhett. He admitted everything and laughed and dared her to say more.
但是雷特不同。他承认了一切，笑了起来，并挑战她说更多。

He came and went during these months, arriving unheralded and leaving without saying good-by. —
在这几个月里，他来去匆匆，没有说再见就离开了。 —

Scarlett never discovered just what business brought him to Atlanta, for few other blockaders found it necessary to come so far away from the coast. —
斯嘉丽从来没有发现他到亚特兰大是为了什么事情，因为很少有其他的封锁者觉得有必要离开海岸这么远。 —

They landed their cargoes at Wilmington or Charleston, where they were met by swarms of merchants and speculators from all over the South who assembled to buy blockaded goods at auction. —
他们在威尔明顿或查尔斯顿登陆他们的货物，那里会有来自整个南方的商人和投机者聚集在一起，参加封锁货物的拍卖。 —

It would have pleased her to think that he made these trips to see her, but even her abnormal vanity refused to believe this. —
她很想认为他出差是为了见她，但即使是她不正常的自负也拒绝相信这一点。 —

If he had ever once made love to her, seemed jealous of the other men who crowded about her, even tried to hold her hand or begged for a picture or a handkerchief to cherish, she would have thought triumphantly he had been caught by her charms. —
如果他曾经与她做过爱，对身边群聚的其他男人表现出嫉妒，甚至试图牵她的手、乞求照片或手帕以示爱意，她会得意地认为他被她的魅力所俘获。 —

But he remained annoyingly unloverlike and, worst of all, seemed to see through all her maneuverings to bring him to his knees.
但他令人讨厌地始终没有表现出爱人的样子，更糟糕的是，似乎看穿了她所有的策略，以期将他俯首称臣。

Whenever he came to town, there was a feminine fluttering. —
每当他来到城里，都会引起女性的一片骚动。 —

Not only did the romantic aura of the dashing blockader hang about him but there was also the titillating element of the wicked and the forbidden. —
他身上不仅有镇上英勇无畏的封锁者浪漫的氛围，还有一种令人兴奋的禁忌感。 —

He had such a bad reputation! And every time the matrons of Atlanta gathered together to gossip, his reputation grew worse, which only made him all the more glamorous to the young girls. —
他的名声可真糟糕！每次亚特兰大的妇女聚在一起八卦时，他的名声都会变得更糟糕，这只会让年轻女孩们对他更加迷恋。 —

As most of them were quite innocent, they had heard little more than that he was “quite loose with women”—and exactly how a man went about the business of being “loose” they did not know. —
因为他们中的大多数人都很纯真，对他只是听说他对女人“很随便”，而他是如何做到“随便”的，她们并不知道。 —

They also heard whispers that no girl was safe with him. —
他们还听到传言说，跟他在一起的女孩都不安全。 —

With such a reputation, it was strange that he had never so much as kissed the hand of an unmarried girl since he first appeared in Atlanta. —
那么有名声的他竟然自从初次出现在亚特兰大以来，连一个未婚女孩的手都没有握过，这真是奇怪。 —

But that only served to make him more mysterious and more exciting.
但这只让他变得更神秘、更令人兴奋。

Outside of the army heroes, he was the most talked-about man in Atlanta. —
除了军队英雄，他是亚特兰大最被谈论的男人。 —

Everyone knew in detail how he had been expelled from West Point for drunkenness and “something about women.” —
每个人都详细了解他是如何因酒醉和“与女人有关的事”而被踢出西点军校的。 —

That terrific scandal concerning the Charleston girl he had compromised and the brother he had killed was public property. —
那次关于他和查尔斯顿的女孩的丑闻以及他杀死兄弟的事情已成为公众财产。 —

Correspondence with Charleston friends elicited the further information that his father, a charming old gentleman with an iron will and a ramrod for a backbone, had cast him out without a penny when he was twenty and even stricken his name from the family Bible. After that he had wandered to California in the gold rush of 1849 and thence to South America and Cuba, and the reports of his activities in these parts were none too savory. —
与查尔斯顿的朋友通讯，得知他的父亲是个迷人的老绅士，意志坚强，脊柱硬得像钢笔，二十岁那年他被父亲赶出家门，一分钱也不给，甚至在家族圣经上删去了他的名字。此后，他流浪到了加利福尼亚参加了1849年的淘金热，然后又去了南美和古巴，对他在这些地方的所作所为的报道并不光彩。 —

Scrapes about women, several shootings, gun running to the revolutionists in Central America and, worst of all, professional gambling were included in his career, as Atlanta heard it.
他的事迹包括与女人有关的争执，多次枪击事件，向中美洲革命者走私武器，最糟糕的是职业赌徒的身份。这些事情都在亚特兰大广为传颂。

There was hardly a family in Georgia who could not own to their sorrow at least one male member or relative who gambled, losing money, houses, land and slaves. —
佐治亚州几乎没有一个家庭没有至少一个男性成员或亲戚赌博，输掉金钱、房屋、土地和奴隶，给他们带来了痛苦。 —

But that was different. A man could gamble himself to poverty and still be a gentleman, but a professional gambler could never be anything but an outcast.
但情况不同。一个人可以赌博输到一贫如洗而仍然是个绅士，然而职业赌徒永远只能是一个被社会遗弃的人。

Had it not been for the upset conditions due to the war and his own services to the Confederate government, Rhett Butler would never have been received in Atlanta. —
如果不是因为战争引起的动荡局势和他对南方联邦政府的贡献，雷特·巴特勒在亚特兰大是不会受到接待的。 —

But now, even the most strait laced felt that patriotism called upon them to be more broad minded. —
但是现在，即使是最为保守的人，也觉得爱国主义要求他们更加开明。 —

The more sentimental were inclined to view that the black sheep of the Butler family had repented of his evil ways and was making an attempt to atone for his sins. —
更感情用事的人倾向于认为巴特勒家族的黑绵羊已经悔过自新，正在尽力弥补他的罪过。 —

So the ladies felt in duty bound to stretch a point, especially in the case of so intrepid a blockader. —
所以女士们觉得自己有责任退让一些，尤其是对于如此英勇的封锁者。 —

Everyone knew now that the fate of the Confederacy rested as much upon the skill of the blockade boats in eluding the Yankee fleet as it did upon the soldiers at the front.
现在每个人都知道，南方联邦的命运不仅仅取决于前线士兵的能力，也同样取决于封锁船队在躲避北方舰队方面的技巧。

Rumor had it that Captain Butler was one of the best pilots in the South and that he was reckless and utterly without nerves. —
谣言传说巴特勒船长是南方最优秀的领航员之一，他勇敢无畏、心绪高昂。 —

Reared in Charleston, he knew every inlet, creek, shoal and rock of the Carolina coast near that port, and he was equally at home in the waters around Wilmington. —
在查尔斯顿长大的他熟悉该港口附近卡罗莱纳海岸的每个入海口、小溪、浅滩和岩石，而且同样擅长于威尔明顿附近的水域。 —

He had never lost a boat or even been forced to dump a cargo. —
他从未失去过一艘船，甚至从未被迫卸下货物。 —

At the onset of the war, he had emerged from obscurity with enough money to buy a small swift boat and now, when blockaded goods realized two thousand per cent on each cargo, he owned four boats. —
在战争开始时，他凭借足够的钱买下了一艘小型快艇，如今，当被封锁的货物每次运输以2000%的利润出售时，他拥有了四艘船。 —

He had good pilots and paid them well, and they slid out of Charleston and Wilmington on dark nights, bearing cotton for Nassau, England and Canada. —
他有优秀的船长并且付给他们高额薪水，他们在黑夜悄然离开查尔斯顿和威尔明顿，运载着棉花去纳绍、英国和加拿大。 —

The cotton mills of England were standing idle and the workers were starving, and any blockader who could outwit the Yankee fleet could command his own price in Liverpool. —
英国的棉纺厂处于停工状态，工人们挨饿，而任何能够智胜北方舰队的封锁商船都能在利物浦自行决定价格。 —

Rhett’s boats were singularly lucky both in taking out cotton for the Confederacy and bringing in the war materials for which the South was desperate. —
雷德的船只在为邦联运送棉花以及运来南方急需的战争物资方面非常幸运。 —

Yes, the ladies felt they could forgive and forget a great many things for such a brave man.
是的，女士们觉得他是一个勇敢的人，她们可以原谅和忘记很多事情。

He was a dashing figure and one that people turned to look at. —
他是一个英俊的人，人们会转过头去看他。 —

He spent money freely, rode a wild black stallion, and wore clothes which were always the height of style and tailoring. —
他挥金如土，骑着一匹野性的黑色战马，身上总是穿着最时尚和定制的衣服。 —

The latter in itself was enough to attract attention to him, for the uniforms of the soldiers were dingy and worn now and the civilians, even when turned out in their best, showed skillful patching and darning. —
这本身就足以引起人们对他的关注，因为士兵们的制服现在已经脏兮兮的了，而市民们即使穿着最好的衣服，也显示出巧妙的补丁和织补。 —

Scarlett thought she had never seen such elegant pants as he wore, fawn colored, shepherd’s plaid, and checked. —
斯嘉丽觉得她从未见过他穿过这样优雅的裤子，驼色、牧羊人格子和格子花纹。 —

As for his waistcoats, they were indescribably handsome, especially the white watered-silk one with tiny pink rosebuds embroidered on it. —
至于他的背心，它们无法形容地漂亮，特别是那一件白色的压纹丝绸上面绣着小粉红色的玫瑰花蕾。 —

And he wore these garments with a still more elegant air as though unaware of their glory.
当他选择施展魅力时，很少有女士能够抗拒他，最后甚至包括梅里韦瑟夫人也变得友善起来，邀请他周日吃饭。

There were few ladies who could resist his charms when he chose to exert them, and finally even Mrs. Merriwether unbent and invited him to Sunday dinner.
当然，他穿着这些衣服时更加优雅，仿佛并不意识到它们的荣耀。

Maybelle Merriwether was to marry her little Zouave when he got his next furlough, and she cried every time she thought of it, for she had set her heart on marrying in a white satin dress and there was no white satin in the Confederacy. —
梅贝尔·梅里韦瑟等着她的小祖阿维得到下次休假时就和他结婚，每次想到这件事她都会哭，因为她一心想要穿一件白色缎子礼服结婚，而邦联境内却没有白色缎子。 —

Nor could she borrow a dress, for the satin wedding dresses of years past had all gone into the making of battle flags. —
也不能借一件礼服，因为过去几年的白色缎子婚纱都用来制作战旗了。 —

Useless for the patriotic Mrs. Merriwether to upbraid her daughter and point out that homespun was the proper bridal attire for a Confederate bride. —
那么爱国的梅里韦瑟太太责备她的女儿说，纺织布是邦联新娘适当的婚礼服装。 —

Maybelle wanted satin. She was willing, even proud to go without hairpins and buttons and nice shoes and candy and tea for the sake of the Cause, but she wanted a satin wedding dress.
梅贝尔想要缎子。她甘愿为了事业而不用发夹、纽扣、好鞋、糖果和茶水，但她想要一件缎子婚纱。

Rhett, hearing of this from Melanie, brought in from England yards and yards of gleaming white satin and a lace veil and presented them to her as a wedding gift. —
雷德从梅兰妮那里听说了这件事，从英国带来了数码缎子和一件蕾丝面纱，作为结婚礼物送给了她。 —

He did it in such a way that it was unthinkable to even mention paying him for them, and Maybelle was so delighted she almost kissed him. —
他以一种不可思议的方式做到了这一点，以至于甚至提到为他支付费用都是不可想象的，迈贝尔如此高兴以至于差点亲吻他。 —

Mrs. Merriwether knew that so expensive a gift—and a gift of clothing at that—was highly improper, but she could think of no way of refusing when Rhett told her in the most florid language that nothing was too good to deck the bride of one of our brave heroes. —
梅里韦瑟夫人明白，如此昂贵的礼物，尤其是一件衣物的礼物，在礼仪上是高度不合适的，但当雷特以极其华丽的措辞告诉她，没有什么比装饰我们勇敢的英雄的新娘更好的时候，她想不出拒绝的办法。 —

So Mrs. Merriwether invited him to dinner, feeling that this concession more than paid for the gift.
所以梅里韦瑟夫人邀请他来吃晚饭，觉得这种让步比送礼物还要有价值。

He not only brought Maybelle the satin but he was able to give excellent hints on the making of the wedding dress. —
他不仅带来了缎子给迈贝尔，还能够对婚纱的制作给出很好的建议。 —

Hoops in Paris were wider this season and skirts were shorter. —
巴黎的裙撑这个季节更宽，裙子也更短。 —

They were no longer ruffled but were gathered up in scalloped festoons, showing braided petticoats beneath. —
它们不再是褶边，而是用拱形装饰将裙摆收拢，裙摆下露出了编织的内裤。 —

He said, too, that he had seen no pantalets on the streets, so he imagined they were “out.” —
他还说，他在街上没看到过褶裤，所以他认为现在不流行了。 —

Afterwards, Mrs. Merriwether told Mrs. Elsing she feared that if she had given him any encouragement at all, he would have told her exactly what kind of drawers were being worn by Parisiennes.
之后，梅里韦瑟夫人告诉埃尔辛夫人，她担心如果她给了他任何鼓励，他会告诉她巴黎女人穿什么样的内裤。

Had he been less obviously masculine, his ability to recall details of dresses, bonnets and coiffures would have been put down as the rankest effeminacy. —
如果他的男子气概没有那么明显，他对衣服、帽子和发式的细节记忆能力就会被视为最无法忍受的阴柔行为。 —

The ladies always felt a little odd when they besieged him with questions about styles, but they did it nevertheless. —
当她们围攻他提问时，女士们总是感到有些奇怪，但她们还是这样做了。 —

They were as isolated from the world of fashion as shipwrecked mariners, for few books of fashion came through the blockade. —
由于封锁，时装书籍很少能传入，她们与时尚界完全隔离，就像被困在海难中的水手们一样。 —

For all they knew the ladies of France might be shaving their heads and wearing coonskin caps, so Rhett’s memory for furbelows was an excellent substitute for Godey’s Lady’s Book. He could and did notice details so dear to feminine hearts, and after each trip abroad he could be found in the center of a group of ladies, telling that bonnets were smaller this year and perched higher, covering most of the top of the head, that plumes and not flowers were being used to trim them, that the Empress of France had abandoned the chignon for evening wear and had her hair piled almost on the top of her head, showing all of her ears, and that evening frocks were shockingly low again.
照他们所知，法国的女士们可能会剃光头戴浣熊皮帽，所以雷特对时尚装饰的记忆成了对《歌蒂女士书》的极好替代品。他能够并且也确实会注意到对女性来说至关重要的细节，在每次出国旅行后，他总能够被发现站在一群女士的中间，告诉她们今年的帽子更小、高高地戴在头顶上，几乎遮住了整个头顶，用羽毛而不是花朵来修饰，法国女皇晚宴上已经放弃编发，而是将头发梳得几乎在头顶上方，露出了整个耳朵，而晚装的领口又惊人地低。

For some months, he was the most popular and romantic figure the town knew, despite his previous reputation, despite the faint rumors that he was engaged not only in blockading but in speculating on foodstuffs, too. —
在这几个月里，尽管他以前的名声，尽管有轻微的传闻说他不仅仅从事封锁贸易，还在食品投机上有所作为，但他却是城里最受欢迎、最浪漫的人物。 —

People who did not like him said that after every trip he made to Atlanta, prices jumped five dollars. —
不喜欢他的人说，每次他去亚特兰大一趟，物价就涨了5美元。 —

But even with this under-cover gossip seeping about, he could have retained his popularity had he considered it worth retaining. —
但即使有这样的暗地传言，如果他觉得值得保留，他本可以保持自己的受欢迎程度。 —

Instead, it seemed as though, after trying the company of the staid and patriotic citizens and winning their respect and grudging liking, something perverse in him made him go out of his way to affront them and show them that his conduct had been only a masquerade and one which no longer amused him.
相反，他似乎在尽力冒犯那些庄重爱国的市民，并向他们展示他的行为只是一种伪装，而且这种伪装已经不再令他感到有趣。

It was as though he bore an impersonal contempt for everyone and everything in the South, the Confederacy in particular, and took no pains to conceal it. —
仿佛他对南方的每一个人和事物都怀着一种超然的蔑视，尤其是南方联盟，而且他毫不掩饰这种蔑视。 —

It was his remarks about the Confederacy that made Atlanta look at him first in bewilderment, then coolly and then with hot rage. —
正是他对南方联盟的言论让亚特兰大的人们先是感到困惑，然后冷漠，最后愤怒。 —

Even before 1862 passed into 1863, men were bowing to him with studied frigidity and women beginning to draw their daughters to their sides when he appeared at a gathering.
甚至在1862年过渡到1863年之前，人们对他的冷淡都是假装的，女性开始在他出现时保护自己的女儿。

He seemed to take pleasure not only in affronting the sincere and red-hot loyalties of Atlanta but in presenting himself in the worst possible light. —
他似乎不仅享受冒犯亚特兰大真诚而炙热的忠诚，还以最糟糕的方式展示自己。 —

When well-meaning people complimented him on his bravery in running the blockade, he blandly replied that he was always frightened when in danger, as frightened as were the brave boys at the front. —
当好心的人们称赞他冲破封锁的勇敢时，他淡淡地回答说，在危险中他总是感到害怕，就像前线的勇敢男孩们一样。 —

Everyone knew there had never been a cowardly Confederate soldier and they found this statement peculiarly irritating. —
每个人都知道南方军队从来没有怯弱的士兵，他们发现这种说法特别令人恼火。 —

He always referred to the soldiers as “our brave boys” and “our heroes in gray” and did it in such a way as to convey the utmost in insult. —
他总是将士兵称为“我们勇敢的男孩”和“我们灰衣英雄”，并且以一种极度侮辱的方式说出来。 —

When daring young ladies, hoping for a flirtation, thanked him for being one of the heroes who fought for them, he bowed and declared that such was not the case, for he would do the same thing for Yankee women if the same amount of money were involved.
当勇敢的年轻女士们希望与他调情时，感谢他为她们之中的英雄之一而战斗，他鞠躬并宣称这并非事实，因为如果涉及同等金额的话，他也会为北方女士们这么做。

Since Scarlett’s first meeting with him in Atlanta on the night of the bazaar, he had talked with her in this manner, but now there was a thinly veiled note of mockery in his conversations with everyone. —
自从斯嘉丽在亚特兰大集市的那个晚上与他第一次见面以来，他一直以这种方式与她交谈，但现在他与每个人的对话中都透露出一丝嘲笑的味道。 —

When praised for his services to the Confederacy, he unfailingly replied that blockading was a business with him. —
当他被赞扬为对邦联的贡献时，他总是坚持说他是以贸易形式参与封锁。 —

If he could make as much money out of government contracts, he would say, picking out with his eyes those who had government contracts, then he would certainly abandon the hazards of blockading and take to selling shoddy cloth, sanded sugar, spoiled flour and rotten leather to the Confederacy.
如果他能从政府合同中赚到更多钱，他会挑选那些有政府合同的人，然后毫不犹豫地放弃封锁的危险，转而向邦联销售劣质布料、掺沙糖、发霉面粉和烂皮革。

Most of his remarks were unanswerable, which made them all the worse. —
他的大部分言论都无法反驳，这使得他们更加糟糕。 —

There had already been minor scandals about those holding government contracts. —
已经有关于持有政府合同人员的小丑闻了。 —

Letters from men at the front complained constantly of shoes that wore out in a week, gunpowder that would not ignite, harness that snapped at any strain, meat that was rotten and flour that was full of weevils. —
来自前线的信件经常抱怨鞋子一周就磨破、火药无法点燃、马具在任何拉力下都断裂、肉是腐烂的，面粉里满是食蚁动物。 —

Atlanta people tried to think that the men who sold such stuff to the government must be contract holders from Alabama or Virginia or Tennessee, and not Georgians. —
亚特兰大人试图认为，卖给政府的那些人一定是来自阿拉巴马州、弗吉尼亚州或田纳西州的合同持有人，而不是乔治亚人。 —

For did not the Georgia contract holders include men from the very best families? —
因为乔治亚的合同持有人难道不包括出身最好的家族吗？ —

Were they not the first to contribute to the hospital funds and to the aid of soldiers’ orphans? —
他们不是第一个向医院基金和士兵孤儿救助方面捐款的吗？ —

Were they not the first to cheer at “Dixie” and the most rampant seekers, in oratory at least, for Yankee blood? —
他们不是第一个欢呼”迪克西”并且在演讲中对北方人充满愤怒的人吗？ —

The full tide of fury against those profiteering on government contracts had not yet risen, and Rhett’s words were taken merely as evidence of his own bad breeding.
那对那些在政府合同上牟取暴利的人的愤怒之潮还没有兴起，所以雷特的话仅仅被视为他个人没有教养的证据。

He not only affronted the town with insinuations of venality on the part of men in high places and slurs on the courage of the men in the field, but he took pleasure in tricking the dignified citizenry into embarrassing situations. —
他不仅冒犯了城里的人，暗示高层人士贪污受贿并诋毁战场上士兵的勇气，而且还乐于让尊严的市民陷入尴尬的境地中。 —

He could no more resist pricking the conceits, the hypocrisies and the flamboyant patriotism of those about him than a small boy can resist putting a pin into a balloon. —
他对周围人的自负、虚伪和夸夸其谈的爱国主义不亚于小男孩对气球戳一针那般无法抑制的冲动。 —

He neatly deflated the pompous and exposed the ignorant and the bigoted, and he did it in such subtle ways, drawing his victims out by his seemingly courteous interest, that they never were quite certain what had happened until they stood exposed as windy, high flown and slightly ridiculous.
他狡妙地挫败了自负的人，揭露了无知和偏执的人，而且他以一种细微的方式做到了这一点，通过表现出他貌似彬彬有礼的兴趣来引出他的受害者，以至于他们从未确切知道发生了什么，直到他们暴露出来，被揭示为浮夸、高谈阔论和稍显可笑。

During the months when the town accepted him, Scarlett had been under no illusions about him. —
在城里接纳他的几个月中，斯嘉丽对他没有任何幻想。 —

She knew that his elaborate gallantries and his florid speeches were all done with his tongue in his cheek. —
她知道他那些华丽的殷勤和辞令都是带着戏谑的口吻来做的。 —

She knew that he was acting the part of the dashing and patriotic blockade runner simply because it amused him. —
她知道他扮演起风驰电掣的爱国封锁线走私者只是因为这样做令他感到有趣。 —

Sometimes he seemed to her like the County boys with whom she had grown up, the wild Tarleton twins with their obsession for practical jokes; —
有时候他对她来说有点像她一起长大的县里男孩，狂野的塔尔顿兄弟，他们对恶作剧痴迷; —

the devil-inspired Fontaines, teasing, mischievous; —
还有通过魔鬼的启发，招惹人的方丹家族，调皮捣蛋。 —

the Calverts who would sit up all night planning hoaxes. —
卡尔弗特一家人通宵策划恶作剧。 —

But there was a difference, for beneath Rhett’s seeming lightness there was something malicious, almost sinister in its suave brutality.
但有一个区别，就是在雷特貌似轻浮的外表下，隐藏着一种邪恶、几乎可怕的无情。

Though she was thoroughly aware of his insincerity, she much preferred him in the role of the romantic blockader. —
尽管她十分清楚他的虚伪，但她更喜欢他扮演浪漫的封锁者的角色。 —

For one thing, it made her own situation in associating with him so much easier than it had been at first. —
因为这样做使她与他的关系变得比起初容易多了。 —

So, she was intensely annoyed when he dropped his masquerade and set out apparently upon a deliberate campaign to alienate Atlanta’s good will. —
所以，当他放下伪装，似乎故意追求亚特兰大的好感时，她十分恼火。 —

It annoyed her because it seemed foolish and also because some of the harsh criticism directed at him fell on her.
这让她感到愚蠢，而且还因为对他的严厉批评之中的一些落在了她身上。

It was at Mrs. Elsing’s silver musicale for the benefit of the convalescents that Rhett signed his final warrant of ostracism. —
正是在埃尔辛夫人为康复者举办的银乐会上，雷特签下了他最后被排斥的凭据。 —

That afternoon the Elsing home was crowded with soldiers on leave and men from the hospitals, members of the Home Guard and the militia unit, and matrons, widows and young girls. —
那天下午，埃尔辛家里挤满了休假的士兵和来自医院的人们，家庭警卫队的成员和民兵单位的人员，还有妇女、寡妇和年轻女孩们。 —

Every chair in the house was occupied, and even the long winding stair was packed with guests. —
屋子里的每一把椅子都被占满了，甚至长长的蜿蜒楼梯也挤满了客人。 —

The large cut-glass bowl held at the door by the Elsings’ butler had been emptied twice of its burden of silver coins. —
埃尔辛家的管家拿着一个大的切割玻璃碗在门口，已经两次装满了银币。 —

That in itself was enough to make the affair a success, for now a dollar in silver was worth sixty dollars in Confederate paper money.
这本身就足以使这个活动取得成功，因为现在一美元的银币价值等于六十美元的南部军需纸币。

Every girl with any pretense to accomplishments had sung or played the piano, and the tableaux vivants had been greeted with flattering applause. —
每一个有一定才华的女孩都唱过或弹过钢琴，静态画面表演也受到了热烈的掌声。 —

Scarlett was much pleased with herself, for not only had she and Melanie rendered a touching duet, “When the Dew Is on the Blossom,” followed as an encore by the more sprightly “Oh, Lawd, Ladies, Don’t Mind Stephen!” —
斯嘉丽对自己非常满意，因为她和梅兰妮不仅合唱了一首动人的二重唱《当露珠落在花朵上时》，还以encore的形式演唱了更活泼的《哦，老天爷，女士们，不要介意斯蒂芬！》 —

but she had also been chosen to represent the Spirit of the Confederacy in the last tableau.
而且她还被选为最后一幅静态画面中的南部联邦精神的代表。

She had looked most fetching, wearing a modestly draped Greek robe of white cheesecloth girdled with red and blue and holding the Stars and Bars in one hand, while with the other she stretched out to the kneeling Captain Carey Ashburn, of Alabama, the gold-hilted saber which had belonged to Charles and his father.
她身着一件端庄的希腊白色纱布长袍，腰间系着红蓝相间的带子，一手举着星条旗，而另一只手则伸向跪在地上的阿拉巴马州的凯里·阿什伯恩船长，递过已经属于查尔斯和他的父亲的镶金手柄的军刀。

When her tableau was over, she could not help seeking Rhett’s eyes to see if he had appreciated the pretty picture she made. —
当她的静态画面结束后，她忍不住想看看瑞德是否欣赏她美丽的形象。 —

With a feeling of exasperation she saw that he was in an argument and probably had not even noticed her. —
但她感到非常气愤的是，她发现瑞德正处于一场争论中，很可能甚至都没有注意到她。 —

Scarlett could see by the faces of the group surrounding him that they were infuriated by what he was saying.
斯嘉丽可以从他周围人的表情中看到，他们对他的话感到非常愤怒。

She made her way toward them and, in one of those odd silences which sometimes fall on a gathering, she heard Willie Guinan, of the militia outfit, say plainly: —
她朝他们的方向走去，在这种有时会在一个聚会上出现的奇怪的寂静中，她听到民兵组织的威利·吉南清晰地说着： —

“Do I understand, sir, that you mean the Cause for which our heroes have died is not sacred?”
“先生，我是否理解您的意思，我们英雄以命相托的事业并不神圣？”

“If you were run over by a railroad train your death wouldn’t sanctify the railroad company, would it?” —
“如果你被火车撞死了，你的死亡不会使铁路公司变得圣洁，对吗？” —

asked Rhett and his voice sounded as if he were humbly seeking information.
Rhett问道，他的声音听起来像是谦虚地寻求信息。

“Sir,” said Willie, his voice shaking, “if we were not under this roof—”
“先生，”威利说，声音颤抖，“如果我们不在这个屋顶下……”

“I tremble to think what would happen,” said Rhett. “For, of course, your bravery is too well known.”
“我不敢想象会发生什么事，”Rhett说。“因为，当然，你的勇敢是众所周知的。”

Willie went scarlet and all conversation ceased. Everyone was embarrassed. —
威利脸红了起来，所有的谈话都停止了。每个人都感到尴尬。 —

Willie was strong and healthy and of military age and yet he wasn’t at the front. —
威利强壮健康，达到了服兵役的年龄，但他没有去前线。 —

Of course, he was the only boy his mother had and, after all, somebody had to be in the militia to protect the state. —
当然，他是他母亲唯一的儿子，毕竟必须有人在民兵中保护这个州。 —

But there were a few irreverent snickers from convalescent officers when Rhett spoke of bravery.
但是，当Rhett提到勇敢时，有几个很不礼貌的军官窃笑了一下。

“Oh, why doesn’t he keep his mouth shut!” —
“哦，他为什么不闭嘴！” —

thought Scarlett indignantly. “He’s simply spoiling the whole party!”
斯嘉丽愤慨地想。“他简直毁了整个聚会！”

Dr. Meade’s brows were thunderous.
尚未的眉毛布满了雷霆之势。

“Nothing may be sacred to you, young man,” he said, in the voice he always used when making speeches. “But there are many things sacred to the patriotic men and ladies of the South. And the freedom of our land from the usurper is one and States’ Rights is another and—”
“对于你来说，年轻人，或许没有什么是神圣的，”他用他演讲时经常使用的声音说道。“但对于南方的爱国男士和女士们来说，有很多东西是神圣的。我们土地上的自由是其中之一，州权是另外一些，还有——”

Rhett looked lazy and his voice had a silky, almost bored, note.
瑞德看起来慵懒，他的声音带着丝滑几乎无聊的语调。

“All wars are sacred,” he said. “To those who have to fight them. —
“所有的战争都是神圣的，”他说。“对于那些必须进行战斗的人来说。 —

If the people who started wars didn’t make them sacred, who would be foolish enough to fight? —
如果发动战争的人没有使它们变得神圣，还有谁会傻到去战斗呢？ —

But, no matter what rallying cries the orators give to the idiots who fight, no matter what noble purposes they assign to wars, there is never but one reason for a war. —
但是，无论演讲者为那些参战的白痴们喊什么口号，无论他们赋予战争什么崇高的目的，战争只有一个原因。 —

And that is money. All wars are in reality money squabbles. But so few people ever realize it. —
而那就是金钱。所有的战争实际上都是为了钱而争斗。但很少有人意识到这一点。 —

Their ears are too full of bugles and drums and the fine words from stay-at-home orators. —
他们的耳朵中充满了号角声、战鼓声和那些不愿亲自上战场的演讲者的华丽辞藻。 —

Sometimes the rallying cry is ‘Save the Tomb of Christ from the Heathen!’ —
有时，号召战斗的口号是“拯救基督墓免于异教徒之手！” —

Sometimes it’s ‘Down with Popery!’ and sometimes ‘Liberty!’ —
有时候是“打倒天主教！”有时候是“自由！” —

and sometimes ‘Cotton, Slavery and States’ Rights!‘”
有时候是“棉花、奴隶制和州权！””

“What on earth has the Pope to do with it?” thought Scarlett. “Or Christ’s tomb, either?”
“天晓得这跟教皇有什么关系？”斯嘉丽想，“或者耶稣的坟墓呢？”

But as she hurried toward the incensed group, she saw Rhett bow jauntily and start toward the doorway through the crowd. —
但是当她匆忙走向愤怒的群众时，她看到瑞德嬉皮笑脸地鞠躬，朝着人群走去。 —

She started after him but Mrs. Elsing caught her skirt and held her.
她追着他走，但是艾尔欣太太抓住了她的裙子，拉住了她。

“Let him go,” she said in a clear voice that carried throughout the tensely quiet room. “Let him go. —
“让他走吧，”她用一种响亮的声音说道，这声音穿透整个紧张的房间。“让他走吧。 —

He is a traitor, a speculator! He is a viper that we have nursed to our bosoms!”
他是叛国者，一个投机者！他是我们怀抱中哺育的毒蛇！”

Rhett, standing in the hall, his hat in his hand, heard as he was intended to hear and, turning, surveyed the room for a moment. —
瑞德站在大厅里，手中拿着帽子，他听到了他意图听到的，并转身对房间进行了一会儿的观察。 —

He looked pointedly at Mrs. Elsing’s flat bosom, grinned suddenly and, bowing, made his exit.
他特意看了一眼艾尔欣太太平平的胸脯，突然咧嘴一笑，鞠了一躬，然后走了出去。

Mrs. Merriwether rode home in Aunt Pitty’s carriage, and scarcely had the four ladies seated themselves when she exploded.
梅里韦瑟夫人乘坐彼提太太的马车回家，在四位女士刚刚落座时，她爆发了。

“There now, Pittypat Hamilton! I hope you are satisfied!”
“好了，彼提派特·汉密尔顿！希望你满意！”

“With what?” cried Pitty, apprehensively.
“用什么？”彼蒂惊恐地呼喊道。

“With the conduct of that wretched Butler man you’ve been harboring.”
“用那个可怜的巴特勒人的行为。”

Pittypat fluttered, too upset by the accusation to recall that Mrs. Merriwether had also been Rhett Butler’s hostess on several occasions. —
彼蒂飞快地摇动着，因为这个指责而太心烦意乱，以至于忘记了梅里韦瑟太太也曾几次接待过雷特·巴特勒。 —

Scarlett and Melanie thought of this, but bred to politeness to their elders, refrained from remarking on the matter. —
斯嘉丽和梅兰妮想过这个问题，但是养成了对长辈的礼貌，他们都没有发表评论。 —

Instead they studiously looked down at their mittened hands.
相反，他们专心地低头看着自己戴着手套的手。

“He insulted us all and the Confederacy too,” said Mrs. Merriwether, and her stout bust heaved violently beneath its glittering passementerie trimmings. —
“他侮辱了我们所有人，也侮辱了邦联，”梅里韦瑟太太说道，她身材魁梧的胸脯在闪亮的穿带饰边下剧烈地起伏着。 —

“Saying that we were fighting for money! Saying that our leaders had lied to us! —
“他说我们是为了钱在战斗！说我们的领导人欺骗了我们！ —

He should be put in jail. Yes, he should. I shall speak to Dr. Meade about it. —
“他应该被关进监狱。是的，应该的。我会找梅德医生谈谈这件事。 —

If Mr. Merriwether were only alive, he’d tend to him! —
“如果默里韦瑟先生还活着的话，他会照顾他的！ —

Now, Pitty Hamilton, you listen to me. You mustn’t ever let that scamp come into your house again!”
“彼蒂·汉密尔顿，你听我说。你不能让那个流氓再进你家了！”

“Oh,” mumbled Pitty, helplessly, looking as if she wished she were dead. —
“哦，”彼蒂含糊地咕哝着，无助地看着自己仿佛希望自己早点死去。 —

She looked appealingly at the two girls who kept their eyes cast down and then hopefully toward Uncle Peter’s erect back. —
她希望两个低头不语的女孩能朝着彼得叔叔笔直的背影看一眼，她期望他会转身加入对话，因为他经常这样做。 —

She knew he was listening attentively to every word and she hoped he would turn and take a hand in the conversation, as he frequently did. —
她知道他在认真倾听每个词语，她希望他能转过身来参与对话，就像他经常这样做。 —

She hoped he would say: “Now, Miss Dolly, you let Miss Pitty be,” but Peter made no move. —
她希望他会说：“如今，多莉小姐，你就让小皮蒂过自己的生活吧。”但是彼得却没有丝毫动作。 —

He disapproved heartily of Rhett Butler and poor Pitty knew it. —
彼得对雷特·巴特勒深表反感，可怜的皮蒂知道这一点。 —

She sighed and said: “Well, Dolly, if you think—”
她叹了口气说：“好吧，多莉，如果你这么认为的话……”

“I do think,” returned Mrs. Merriwether firmly. —
“我确实这么认为，”梅里韦瑟夫人坚定地回答道。 —

“I can’t imagine what possessed you to receive him in the first place. —
“我真想不通你为什么一开始要接纳他。” —

After this afternoon, there won’t be a decent home in town that he’ll be welcome in. —
今后，他再也不会受欢迎地进入镇上任何一个体面的家了。 —

Do get up some gumption and forbid him your house.”
拿点勇气，不要让他再踏进你家门。

She turned a sharp eye on the girls. “I hope you two are marking my words,” she continued, “for it’s partly your fault, being so pleasant to him. —
她有些警觉地盯着这两个女孩说：“希望你们两个能记住我的话，这里也有你们的责任，对他这么和蔼可亲。” —

Just tell him politely but firmly that his presence and his disloyal talk are distinctly unwelcome at your house.”
礼貌而坚定地告诉他，他的出现和他背叛的言论在你家里是不受欢迎的。

By this time Scarlett was boiling, ready to rear like a horse at the touch of a strange rough hand on its bridle. —
此时的斯嘉丽已经气得发火，准备像驯服马口袋上陌生粗糙的手那样反抗。 —

But she was afraid to speak. She could not risk Mrs. Merriwether writing another letter to her mother.
但她害怕开口。她不能冒险让梅利韦瑟夫人再给她妈妈写信。

“You old buffalo!” she thought, her face crimson with suppressed fury. —
“你这个老水牛！”她想着，脸色因愤怒而红得发紫。 —

“How heavenly it would be to tell you just what I think of you and your bossy ways!”
“要是能告诉你我对你和你爱发号施令的方式的看法有多么讨厌多好啊！”

“I never thought to live long enough to hear such disloyal words spoken of our Cause,” went on Mrs. Merriwether, by this time in a ferment of righteous anger. —
“我从未想过自己会活到听到这样对我们事业的不忠诚的话语，”梅利韦瑟夫人继续说着。 —

“Any man who does not think our Cause is just and holy should be hanged! —
“任何不认为我们事业正义和圣洁的人都应该被绞死！ —

I don’t want to hear of you two girls ever even speaking to him again— For Heaven’s sake, Melly, what ails you?”
我不希望听到你们两个女孩再和他说话—天哪，梅莉，你怎么了？”

Melanie was white and her eyes were enormous.
梅兰妮脸色苍白，眼睛瞪得大大的。

“I will speak to him again,” she said in a low voice. —
“我会再次和他说话的，”她低声说道。 —

“I will not be rude to him. I will not forbid him the house.”
“我不会对他无礼。我不会禁止他进屋。”

Mrs. Merriwether’s breath went out of her lungs as explosively as though she had been punched. Aunt Pitty’s fat mouth popped open and Uncle Peter turned to stare.
梅里韦瑟太太仿佛被人重重击中，呼吸突然一下子停止。皮蒂太太的大嘴巴张得老大，彼得叔叔转过身来瞪着眼。

“Now, why didn’t I have the gumption to say that?” —
“现在，为什么我没有足够的勇气说出来呢？” —

thought Scarlett, jealousy mixing with admiration. —
斯佳丽心里想着，嫉妒与钦佩交织在一起。 —

“How did that little rabbit ever get up spunk enough to stand up to old lady Merriwether?”
“那个小兔子究竟怎么挺直了脊梁面对梅里韦瑟一家老太太呢？”

Melanie’s hands were shaking but she went on hurriedly, as though fearing her courage would fail her if she delayed.
梅兰妮的手在颤抖，但她匆匆继续说下去，仿佛害怕如果拖延就会失去勇气。

“I won’t be rude to him because of what he said, because— It was rude of him to say it out loud—most ill advised—but it’s—it’s what Ashley thinks. —
“我不会因为他说的话而对他无礼，因为——他公开说出来是很无礼的——非常不明智——但这是——这是阿什利的想法。 —

And I can’t forbid the house to a man who thinks what my husband thinks. —
我不能因为认同我的丈夫的想法而禁止他进屋。 —

It would be unjust.”
那是不公正的。”

Mrs. Merriwether’s breath had come back and she charged.
梅里韦瑟太太的呼吸恢复了正常，她急进地说道。

“Melly Hamilton, I never heard such a lie in all my life! —
“梅莉·汉密尔顿，我从来没有听过这么大的谎言！ —

There was never a Wilkes who was a coward—”
从来没有一个威尔克斯是懦夫——”

“I never said Ashley was a coward,” said Melanie, her eyes beginning to flash. —
“我从没说过阿什利是懦夫,” 梅兰妮说道，她的眼神开始闪烁。 —

“I said he thinks what Captain Butler thinks, only he expresses it in different words. —
“我说过他和巴特勒船长的想法一样，只是他用不同的措辞表达。 —

And he doesn’t go around saying it at musicales, I hope. —
而且他并没有在音乐会上公开说，我希望如此。 —

But he has written it to me.”
不过他确实写信给我了。

Scarlett’s guilty conscience stirred as she tried to recall what Ashley might have written that would lead Melanie to make such a statement, but most of the letters she had read had gone out of her head as soon as she finished reading them. —
斯嘉丽的内疚感激起来，她试图回忆起阿什利可能写了什么让梅兰妮作出这样的说法，但她读完信后，大部分内容都被遗忘了。 —

She believed Melanie had simply taken leave of her senses.
她相信梅兰妮只是神智不清。

“Ashley wrote me that we should not be fighting the Yankees. —
“阿什利在信中对我说，我们不应该与北方人战斗。 —

And that we have been betrayed into it by statesmen and orators mouthing catchwords and prejudices,” said Melly rapidly. —
并且我们被政治家和演讲者的陈词滥调和偏见所欺骗，” 梅兰妮迅速说道。 —

“He said nothing in the world was worth what this war was going to do to us. —
“他说这场战争将使我们付出的代价不值得。 —

He said here wasn’t anything at all to glory—it was just misery and dirt.”
他说无论如何都没有值得炫耀的东西—只有痛苦和污秽。

“Oh! That letter,” thought Scarlett. “Was that what he meant?”
“哦！那封信，” 斯嘉丽想到。 “他是指那封信吗？”

“I don’t believe it,” said Mrs. Merriwether firmly. “You misunderstood his meaning.”
“我不相信这个，” Merriwether太太坚定地说道。”你误解了他的意思。”

“I never misunderstand Ashley,” Melanie replied quietly, though her lips were trembling. —
“我从不误解Ashley，” Melanie平静地回答道，尽管她的嘴唇在颤抖。 —

“I understand him perfectly. He meant exactly what Captain Butler meant, only he didn’t say it in a rude way.”
“我完全理解他的意思。他的意思和Butler船长一样，只是他没有用粗鲁的方式说出来。”

“You should be ashamed of yourself, comparing a fine man like Ashley Wilkes to a scoundrel like Captain Butler! —
“你应该为自己感到羞愧，将像Ashley Wilkes这样好的人与Butler船长这样的恶棍相比较！” —

I suppose you, too, think the Cause is nothing!”
“我想你也认为我们的事业毫无价值！”

“I—I don’t know what I think,” Melanie began uncertainly, her fire deserting her and panic at her outspokenness taking hold of her. —
“我……我不知道我是什么想法，” Melanie不确定地开始说话，她的愤怒离奇地消失，惶恐和她坦率的言辞抓住了她。 —

“I—I’d die for the Cause, like Ashley would. —
“我……我会为事业而死，就像Ashley会一样。但是，我的意思是，我会让男人们去思考，因为他们聪明得多。” —

But—I mean— I mean, I’ll let the men folks do the thinking, because they are so much smarter.”
“我从来没听过这样的话，”Merriwether太太嘟哝着说。

“I never heard the like,” snorted Mrs. Merriwether. —
“停下来，Peter叔叔，你开过了我的房子！” —

“Stop, Uncle Peter, you’re driving past my house!”
Peter叔叔全神贯注于身后的谈话，开车经过Merriwether的马车站，然后他倒车。

Uncle Peter, preoccupied with the conversation behind him, had driven past the Merriwether carriage block and he backed up the horse. —
“请原谅，” Peter叔叔说道， “我失神了。” —

Mrs. Merriwether alighted, her bonnet ribbons shaking like sails in a storm.
梅里韦瑟夫人下了车，她的帽带像暴风中的帆一样颤动着。

“You’ll be sorry,” she said.
“你会后悔的，”她说。

Uncle Peter whipped up the horse.
彼得大叔鞭打着马。

“You young misses ought ter tek shame, gittin’ Miss Pitty in a state,” he scolded.
“你们这些小姑娘真应该感到羞愧，让皮蒂小姐陷入苦恼，”他责骂道。

“I’m not in a state,” replied Pitty, surprisingly, for less strain than this had frequently brought on fainting fits. —
“我没有陷入苦恼，”皮蒂意外地回答道，因为更轻微的压力常常引发她晕倒。 —

“Melly, honey, I knew you were doing it just to take up for me and, really, I was glad to see somebody take Dolly down a peg. —
“梅莉，亲爱的，我知道你那么做只是为了替我说话，其实，看到有人打败多莉，我还挺高兴的。她太爱指手画脚了。你怎么有勇气的？” —

She’s so bossy. How did you have the courage? —
“但是你觉得你该说那样的话关于阿什利吗？” —

But do you think you should have said that about Ashley?”
“但是那是真的，”梅兰妮回答道，开始轻轻哭泣起来。

“But it’s true,” answered Melanie and she began to cry softly. —
“而且我并不觉得他那么想，我并不为此感到羞愧。 —

“And I’m not ashamed that he thinks that way. —
他认为这场战争是错误的，但他愿意战斗和牺牲，这需要比为了你认为是正确的事情而战斗的人更多的勇气。” —

He thinks the war is all wrong but he’s willing to fight and die anyway, and that takes lots more courage than fighting for something you think is right.”
“主啊，梅兰妮小姐，请不要在吃桃街上哭泣，”彼得大叔急忙加快马的步伐。

“Lawd, Miss Melly, doan cry hyah on Peachtree Street,” groaned Uncle Peter, hastening his horse’s pace. —
“快一点。” —

“Folks’ll talk sumpin’ scan’lous. Wait till us gits home.”
“人们会传播一些令人震惊的谣言。等我们回家再看吧。”

Scarlett said nothing. She did not even squeeze the hand that Melanie had inserted into her palm for comfort. —
斯嘉丽一言不发。她甚至没有握住梅兰妮安慰她的手。 —

She had read Ashley’s letters for only one purpose—to assure herself that he still loved her. —
她只是为了确认亚什利是否还爱她才读了他的信。 —

Now Melanie had given a new meaning to passages in the letters which Scarlett’s eyes had barely seen. —
现在梅兰妮给亚什利信中的某些段落赋予了新的意义，而斯嘉丽几乎没怎么注意过这些段落。 —

It shocked her to realize that anyone as absolutely perfect as Ashley could have any thought in common with such a reprobate as Rhett Butler. —
让她震惊的是，像亚什利这样完美无缺的人竟然与像雷特·巴特勒这样的恶棍有着共同的想法。 —

She thought: “They both see the truth of this war, but Ashley is willing to die about it and Rhett isn’t. —
她想：“他们都看到了这场战争的真相，但亚什利愿意因此而死去，而雷特则不会。” —

I think that shows Rhett’s good sense.” She paused a moment, horror struck that she could have such a thought about Ashley. —
她停了一会，吃惊地意识到自己竟然会对亚什利有这样的想法。 —

“They both see the same unpleasant truth, but Rhett likes to look it in the face and enrage people by talking about it—and Ashley can hardly bear to face it.”
“他们都看到了同样不愉快的真相，但雷特喜欢直面它并通过谈论它激怒他人，而亚什利几乎无法面对它。”

It was very bewildering.
这实在太令人困惑了。