“The offender’s sorrow brings but small relief To him who wears the strong offence’s cross.” —
“罪犯的懊悔只能给戴上重罪十字架的人带来微薄的安慰。” —

–SHAKESPEARE: Sonnets.
–莎士比亚：十四行诗。

I am sorry to say that only the third day after the propitious events at Houndsley Fred Vincy had fallen into worse spirits than he had known in his life before. —
很遗憾地说，就在汉兹利那些吉祥事件发生后的第三天，弗雷德·温茨已经陷入了比以往任何时候都更加沮丧的情绪中。 —

Not that he had been disappointed as to the possible market for his horse, but that before the bargain could be concluded with Lord Medlicote’s man, this Diamond, in which hope to the amount of eighty pounds had been invested, had without the slightest warning exhibited in the stable a most vicious energy in kicking, had just missed killing the groom, and had ended in laming himself severely by catching his leg in a rope that overhung the stable-board. —
并非因为他对自己的马可能在市场上找到的机会感到失望，而是因为在伦敦梅德利科特勋爵的男仆完成交易前，这匹投入了八十英镑希望的‘钻石’，毫无征兆地在马厩里展现出了极其恶劣的踢腿动作，几乎伤到了马夫，并最终因为把腿绊在悬挂在马厩板上的绳索上而严重受伤。 —

There was no more redress for this than for the discovery of bad temper after marriage– which of course old companions were aware of before the ceremony. —
这是毋庸置疑的，就像婚后发现坏脾气一样–在结婚仪式之前，老朋友们当然已经意识到了这一点。 —

For some reason or other, Fred had none of his usual elasticity under this stroke of ill-fortune: —
由于某种原因，弗雷德在这次不幸打击下毫无平日里的那种灵活适应能力： —

he was simply aware that he had only fifty pounds, that there was no chance of his getting any more at present, and that the bill for a hundred and sixty would be presented in five days. —
他只知道自己手头只有五十英镑，目前没有任何其他赚钱的机会，而要在五天内付一百六十英镑的帐。 —

Even if he had applied to his father on the plea that Mr. Garth should be saved from loss, Fred felt smartingly that his father would angrily refuse to rescue Mr. Garth from the consequence of what he would call encouraging extravagance and deceit. —
即使他以救助加思先生免于损失的借口向父亲求援，弗雷德心中清楚父亲会愤怒地拒绝营救加思先生免受他所说的鼓励铺张和欺骗的后果。 —

He was so utterly downcast that he could frame no other project than to go straight to Mr. Garth and tell him the sad truth, carrying with him the fifty pounds, and getting that sum at least safely out of his own hands. —
他如此绝望，以至于无法构想出其他计划，只能径直去找加思先生，告诉他悲伤的事实，带着五十英镑，至少让这笔钱安全脱离他自己的手中。 —

His father, being at the warehouse, did not yet know of the accident: —
他父亲在仓库，目前不知道发生了什么事故： —

when he did, he would storm about the vicious brute being brought into his stable; —
等他知道后，他会因为这匹恶骟被带进他的马厩而大发雷霆； —

and before meeting that lesser annoyance Fred wanted to get away with all his courage to face the greater. —
在遇到这个较小的烦恼之前，弗雷德希望能以所有的勇气去面对更大的挑战。 —

He took his father’s nag, for he had made up his mind that when he had told Mr. Garth, he would ride to Stone Court and confess all to Mary. In fact, it is probable that but for Mary’s existence and Fred’s love for her, his conscience would have been much less active both in previously urging the debt on his thought and impelling him not to spare himself after his usual fashion by deferring an unpleasant task, but to act as directly and simply as he could. —
他骑着父亲的马，因为他已下定决心，当他告诉加思先生后，他会骑着马来到斯通庄园，向玛丽坦白一切。事实上，如果没有玛丽的存在和弗雷德对她的爱，他的良心在以往推动他思考债务和激励他不像平常那样通过拖延一个不愉快的任务来节省自己的方式，却简单直接地行动。 —

Even much stronger mortals than Fred Vincy hold half their rectitude in the mind of the being they love best. —
即使比弗雷德·温茨更坚强的人，也会将自己一半的正直留在他们最爱的人的心中。 —

“The theatre of all my actions is fallen,” said an antique personage when his chief friend was dead; and they are fortunate who get a theatre where the audience demands their best. —
“我所有行为的舞台已经倒塌了，”一位古老的人在他最好的朋友去世时说道；而那些能够在观众要求他们最佳表现的舞台上表演的人是幸运的。 —

Certainly it would have made a considerable difference to Fred at that time if Mary Garth had had no decided notions as to what was admirable in character.
当时如果玛丽·加思特对于人物品德的什么是值得钦佩的没有明确的看法，那对弗雷德肯定会造成相当大的影响。

Mr. Garth was not at the office, and Fred rode on to his house, which was a little way outside the town–a homely place with an orchard in front of it, a rambling, old-fashioned, half-timbered building, which before the town had spread had been a farm-house, but was now surrounded with the private gardens of the townsmen. —
加思特先生没有在办公室，弗雷德就骑马前往他的住所，这是在城镇外的一个有着果园的地方，一座朴素的建筑，前面是一个果园，一个凌乱、老式、半木结构的建筑，城镇扩张之前曾是一座农舍，但现在被镇民的私人花园环绕。 —

We get the fonder of our houses if they have a physiognomy of their own, as our friends have. —
如果我们的房子有自己的面相，就像我们的朋友一样，我们会更加喜欢它们。 —

The Garth family, which was rather a large one, for Mary had four brothers and one sister, were very fond of their old house, from which all the best furniture had long been sold. —
加思特家族相当庞大，玛丽有四个兄弟和一个姐妹，他们都非常喜欢他们的老房子，其中所有最好的家具都早已售出。 —

Fred liked it too, knowing it by heart even to the attic which smelt deliciously of apples and quinces, and until to-day he had never come to it without pleasant expectations; —
弗雷德也喜欢它，甚至对它了如指掌，包括苹果和木栓的阁楼，直到今天，他从未没有满怀愉快的期待来到这里； —

but his heart beat uneasily now with the sense that he should probably have to make his confession before Mrs. Garth, of whom he was rather more in awe than of her husband. —
但现在他的心情不安，因为他意识到他可能不得不在加思特太太面前做自己的交代，他对她比对她丈夫更感敬畏。 —

Not that she was inclined to sarcasm and to impulsive sallies, as Mary was. —
她并不像玛丽那样倾向于讽刺和冲动的玩笑。 —

In her present matronly age at least, Mrs. Garth never committed herself by over-hasty speech; —
至少在她目前的母亲年龄，加思特太太从不轻率地说话； —

having, as she said, borne the yoke in her youth, and learned self-control. —
她说过，年轻时就已经承受了这种压力，并且学会了自我控制。 —

She had that rare sense which discerns what is unalterable, and submits to it without murmuring. —
她具有一种罕见的洞察力，能辨别出什么是无法改变的，并且默默地接受了它。 —

Adoring her husband’s virtues, she had very early made up her mind to his incapacity of minding his own interests, and had met the consequences cheerfully. —
她崇拜她丈夫的美德，很早以前就下定决心，认为他无法懂得自己的利益，她坦然地接受了后果。 —

She had been magnanimous enough to renounce all pride in teapots or children’s frilling, and had never poured any pathetic confidences into the ears of her feminine neighbors concerning Mr. Garth’s want of prudence and the sums he might have had if he had been like other men. —
她足够高尚，放弃了所有对茶壶或孩子衣边的骄傲，从未向她的女性邻居抱怨过加思特先生缺乏谨慎，或他如果像其他人那样就可以拥有的金钱。 —

Hence these fair neighbors thought her either proud or eccentric, and sometimes spoke of her to their husbands as “your fine Mrs. Garth.” She was not without her criticism of them in return, being more accurately instructed than most matrons in Middlemarch, and–where is the blameless woman? —
因此，这些美丽的邻居们认为她要么骄傲，要么古怪，有时对她的丈夫说起她，称她为”你的好夫人加思特”。她也对她们有所批评，比Middlemarch大多数主妇更加了解情况，而且——哪有无可指摘的女人呢？ —

–apt to be a little severe towards her own sex, which in her opinion was framed to be entirely subordinate. —
——倾向于对自己的性别有点严厉，她认为女性本来就应该完全服从。 —

On the other hand, she was disproportionately indulgent towards the failings of men, and was often heard to say that these were natural. —
另一方面，她对男人的缺点则过分宽容，常常说这些是自然的。 —

Also, it must be admitted that Mrs. Garth was a trifle too emphatic in her resistance to what she held to be follies: —
此外，必须承认，加思夫人在抵制她认为愚蠢的行为时有些太过强调。 —

the passage from governess into housewife had wrought itself a little too strongly into her consciousness, and she rarely forgot that while her grammar and accent were above the town standard, she wore a plain cap, cooked the family dinner, and darned all the stockings. —
从家庭教师转变为家庭主妇的经历在她的意识中留下了一点过分的痕迹，她很少忘记，尽管她的语法和口音高于城镇标准，她还是带着朴素的帽子做家庭饭菜，给所有袜子缝补。 —

She had sometimes taken pupils in a peripatetic fashion, making them follow her about in the kitchen with their book or slate. —
她有时以流动教学的方式接收学生，让他们跟着她在厨房中走动，拿着书或写字板。 —

She thought it good for them to see that she could make an excellent lather while she corrected their blunders “without looking,”– that a woman with her sleeves tucked up above her elbows might know all about the Subjunctive Mood or the Torrid Zone–that, in short, she might possess “education” and other good things ending in “tion,” and worthy to be pronounced emphatically, without being a useless doll. —
她认为让他们看到她可以在打着卷袖精心修理他们的错误时 “毫不看书” 的同时制作优质泡沫，这是件好事–一个使她的袖子卷到肘部以上的女人可能了解次位语气或热带地带的一切–简而言之，她可能拥有以 “tion” 结尾的其他好东西以及值得坚决，而不是无用的洋娃娃。 —

When she made remarks to this edifying effect, she had a firm little frown on her brow, which yet did not hinder her face from looking benevolent, and her words which came forth like a procession were uttered in a fervid agreeable contralto. —
当她说出这些有益的话时，她额上的褶皱会变得坚定，但并没有掩饰她慈祥的面容，她以热忱宜人的男中音说出的话语如同一场仪式。 —

Certainly, the exemplary Mrs. Garth had her droll aspects, but her character sustained her oddities, as a very fine wine sustains a flavor of skin.
当然，模范的加思夫人有她迷人的特质，但她的品格支撑着她的怪癖，就像一瓶非常好的葡萄酒支撑着皮肤的味道一样。

Towards Fred Vincy she had a motherly feeling, and had always been disposed to excuse his errors, though she would probably not have excused Mary for engaging herself to him, her daughter being included in that more rigorous judgment which she applied to her own sex. —
对于弗雷德•温西，她有一种母性的感觉，一直都倾向原谅他的错误，尽管她可能不会原谅玛丽与他订婚，她对自己性别所施加的更严格的判断包括了她的女儿。 —

But this very fact of her exceptional indulgence towards him made it the harder to Fred that he must now inevitably sink in her opinion. —
但她对他异常宽容的这一事实使现在他必然在她的意见中下降变得更加困难。 —

And the circumstances of his visit turned out to be still more unpleasant than he had expected; —
而他这次拜访的情况比他预期的还要糟糕； —

for Caleb Garth had gone out early to look at some repairs not far off. —
因为加力布•加思先去看了附近的一些修理工作。 —

Mrs. Garth at certain hours was always in the kitchen, and this morning she was carrying on several occupations at once there–making her pies at the well-scoured deal table on one side of that airy room, observing Sally’s movements at the oven and dough-tub through an open door, and giving lessons to her youngest boy and girl, who were standing opposite to her at the table with their books and slates before them. —
加思夫人在特定时间总是在厨房里，这天早上她在那里同时进行着几种活动–在通风明亮的房间一角的桌子上做馅饼，透过一扇敞开的门观察着萨莉在烤炉和面团桶的动作，同时给站在她对面桌子上的她最小的男孩和女孩上课，他们面前放着书和写字板。 —

A tub and a clothes-horse at the other end of the kitchen indicated an intermittent wash of small things also going on.
厨房的另一端有一个水桶和一个晾衣架，表明还在进行小物件的间歇性洗涤。

Mrs. Garth, with her sleeves turned above her elbows, deftly handling her pastry–applying her rolling-pin and giving ornamental pinches, while she expounded with grammatical fervor what were the right views about the concord of verbs and pronouns with “nouns of multitude or signifying many,” was a sight agreeably amusing. —
头发卷曲、脸方形的性格和玛丽一样，但更漂亮，面部特征更精致，皮肤苍白，身材结实，眼神remarkably坚定。 —

She was of the same curly-haired, square-faced type as Mary, but handsomer, with more delicacy of feature, a pale skin, a solid matronly figure, and a remarkable firmness of glance. —
玛丽是坚定主持她的蛋糕——滚饼并标注装饰的良好样本，各种灵活处理她的馅饼——应用她的擀面杖和给予装饰性的收拾，热烈讲述关于动词和代词 “与 “众多的或表示许多” 的名词的一致的正确观点，是一幅令人愉快的景象。 —

In her snowy-frilled cap she reminded one of that delightful Frenchwoman whom we have all seen marketing, basket on arm. —
她头上戴着一顶带雪花边的帽子，让人想起那些我们都见过的背篓扛在胳膊上去市集的迷人法国女人。 —

Looking at the mother, you might hope that the daughter would become like her, which is a prospective advantage equal to a dowry–the mother too often standing behind the daughter like a malignant prophecy– “Such as I am, she will shortly be.”
看着这位母亲，你可能希望女儿能像她一样，这是一个潜在的优势，相当于一笔嫁妆──母亲往往站在女儿的背后，如同一个邪恶的预言──“她迟早会变成我这样”。

“Now let us go through that once more,” said Mrs. Garth, pinching an apple-puff which seemed to distract Ben, an energetic young male with a heavy brow, from due attention to the lesson. —
“现在让我们再来过一遍这个问题，”加思夫人说着，捏着一个苹果酥，似乎分散了本，这个活力十足、眉毛浓密的年轻男孩对课程没有应有的注意。 —

“Not without regard to the import of the word as conveying unity or plurality of idea'--tell me again what that means, Ben." <span><tang1> “不考虑单词作为传达单一或多重概念的重要性’–再告诉我这句话是什么意思，本。”

(Mrs. Garth, like more celebrated educators, had her favorite ancient paths, and in a general wreck of society would have tried to hold her “Lindley Murray” above the waves.)
(加思夫人，像更著名的教育家一样，有她钟爱的古老途径，在社会的一般崩塌中，她会努力让她的“林德利·默里法语文法教程”保持在浪潮之上。)

“Oh–it means–you must think what you mean,” said Ben, rather peevishly. —
“哦–意思是–你必须想清楚你的意思，”本有点脾气不好地说。 —

“I hate grammar. What’s the use of it?”
“我讨厌语法。有什么用？”

“To teach you to speak and write correctly, so that you can be understood,” said Mrs. Garth, with severe precision. —
“教你说话和写作准确，这样可以让别人理解你。” 加思夫人严肃地说。 —

“Should you like to speak as old Job does?”
“你想学像老乔那样说话吗？”

“Yes,” said Ben, stoutly; “it’s funnier. He says, Yo goo'-- that's just as good asYou go.‘”
“是的，”本坚定地说道，“那更有趣。他说，Yo goo'--那跟You go’一样好。”

“But he says, A ship's in the garden,' instead ofa sheep,‘” said Letty, with an air of superiority. —
“但是他说，A ship's in the garden'，而不是a sheep’,”莱蒂带着优越感说。 —

“You might think he meant a ship off the sea.”
“你可能会觉得他是说海上的一艘船。”

“No, you mightn’t, if you weren’t silly,” said Ben. “How could a ship off the sea come there?”
“不，如果你不傻，你就不会这样想，”本说。“海上的船怎么会来到那里呢？”

“These things belong only to pronunciation, which is the least part of grammar,” said Mrs. Garth. “That apple-peel is to be eaten by the pigs, Ben; —
“这些东西只属于发音范畴，而发音是语法中最不重要的部分，”加思夫人说。“那个苹果皮要喂猪，本；如果你吃了，我就要把你的肉饼给它们。老乔只需要说很简单的事情。” —

if you eat it, I must give them your piece of pasty. Job has only to speak about very plain things. —
如果你吃了，我就必须把你的肉饼给它们。老乔只需要说很简单的事情。 —

How do you think you would write or speak about anything more difficult, if you knew no more of grammar than he does? —
如果你的语法知识只跟他一样少，你认为你怎么能写或说任何更困难的东西呢？ —

You would use wrong words, and put words in the wrong places, and instead of making people understand you, they would turn away from you as a tiresome person. —
你会用错词，把词放错地方，而不是让人们理解你，他们会以为你很烦人而转身离开。 —

What would you do then?”
那你会怎么办呢？

“I shouldn’t care, I should leave off,” said Ben, with a sense that this was an agreeable issue where grammar was concerned.
“我不在乎，我会停下来的，”本说，对语法问题感到满意。

“I see you are getting tired and stupid, Ben,” said Mrs. Garth, accustomed to these obstructive arguments from her male offspring. —
“本，我看你越来越疲惫和愚蠢了，”习惯了她儿子这些妨碍性的争论的加思夫人说。 —

Having finished her pies, she moved towards the clothes-horse, and said, “Come here and tell me the story I told you on Wednesday, about Cincinnatus.”
罢了，吃完了馅饼，她走向晾衣架说，”过来，告诉我上周三告诉你的关于锡奈修斯的故事。”

“I know! he was a farmer,” said Ben.
“我知道！他是农夫，”本说。

“Now, Ben, he was a Roman–let me tell,” said Letty, using her elbow contentiously.
“不，本，他是罗马人–让我来讲，”莱蒂用胳膊肘固执地说。

“You silly thing, he was a Roman farmer, and he was ploughing.”
“你这傻瓜，他是一个罗马农夫，他正在耕地。”

“Yes, but before that–that didn’t come first–people wanted him,” said Letty.
“是的，但在那之前–那不是首要的–人们需要他，”莱蒂说。

“Well, but you must say what sort of a man he was first,” insisted Ben. “He was a wise man, like my father, and that made the people want his advice. —
“嗯，但你必须先说他是什么样的人，”本坚持说。”他像我爸爸一样聪明，这让人们需要他的建议。 —

And he was a brave man, and could fight. —
他是一个勇敢的人，会打仗。 —

And so could my father–couldn’t he, mother?”
我爸爸也会打仗，对吧，妈妈？”

“Now, Ben, let me tell the story straight on, as mother told it us,” said Letty, frowning. —
“现在，本，让我直接照着妈妈给我们讲的故事继续说，”莱蒂皱着眉头说。 —

“Please, mother, tell Ben not to speak.”
“请，妈妈，让本别说话。”

“Letty, I am ashamed of you,” said her mother, wringing out the caps from the tub. —
莱蒂，我为你感到羞耻，”她妈妈说着，把盆里面的毛巾拧干。 —

“When your brother began, you ought to have waited to see if he could not tell the story. —
“当你弟弟开始的时候，你应该等着看他是否能讲完整个故事。 —

How rude you look, pushing and frowning, as if you wanted to conquer with your elbows! —
你看起来多没礼貌啊，用手肘推搡和皱眉，好像你想用肘部征服一样！ —

Cincinnatus, I am sure, would have been sorry to see his daughter behave so.” —
辛辛那提，我敢肯定，看到他的女儿表现得这么不是滋味，他肯定会感到遗憾的。” —

(Mrs. Garth delivered this awful sentence with much majesty of enunciation, and Letty felt that between repressed volubility and general disesteem, that of the Romans inclusive, life was already a painful affair.) “Now, Ben.”
（加思句） （加思句） (Mrs. Garth以颇有威严的语调发表了这句可怕的判决，莱蒂感到，她的人生已经是一件令人痛苦的事了。）”现在，本。

“Well–oh–well–why, there was a great deal of fighting, and they were all blockheads, and–I can’t tell it just how you told it– but they wanted a man to be captain and king and everything–”
“嗯-哦-嗯-嗯，事实上，之间肃然生的大量打斗，他们都是傻瓜，还有-我没法像你说的那样讲-但他们想要一个人做队长和国王，还有一切-”

“Dictator, now,” said Letty, with injured looks, and not without a wish to make her mother repent.
“独裁者，现在，”莱蒂说着，神情受伤，不无想让她的妈妈后悔的愿望。

“Very well, dictator!” said Ben, contemptuously. —
“很好，独裁者！”本轻蔑地说。 —

“But that isn’t a good word: he didn’t tell them to write on slates.”
“但那不是一个好词：他并没有让他们写在小黑板上。”

“Come, come, Ben, you are not so ignorant as that,” said Mrs. Garth, carefully serious. —
“来，来，本，你也不该那么无知，”Garth太太，一丝不苟地严肃地说。 —

“Hark, there is a knock at the door! Run, Letty, and open it.”
“听，有人敲门！莱蒂，快去开门。”

The knock was Fred’s; and when Letty said that her father was not in yet, but that her mother was in the kitchen, Fred had no alternative. —
敲门声是弗雷德的，当莱蒂说她爸爸还没回来，但她妈妈在厨房时，弗雷德别无选择。 —

He could not depart from his usual practice of going to see Mrs. Garth in the kitchen if she happened to be at work there. —
如果碰巧美丽女士在那里工作，他就不能改变他通常去厨房看她的做法。 —

He put his arm round Letty’s neck silently, and led her into the kitchen without his usual jokes and caresses.
他无力开玩笑和抚摸，只是默默地搂住莱蒂的脖子，把她带进了厨房。

Mrs. Garth was surprised to see Fred at this hour, but surprise was not a feeling that she was given to express, and she only said, quietly continuing her work–
如果美丽女士在那里工作。玛丽升级了，弗雷德这个时候来看她，让她感到惊讶，但惊讶并不是一个她习惯表达的感情，她只是安静地继续自己的工作–

“You, Fred, so early in the day? You look quite pale. Has anything happened?”
“弗雷德，这么早你来了？你看起来相当苍白。发生了什么事吗？”

“I want to speak to Mr. Garth,” said Fred, not yet ready to say more– “and to you also,” he added, after a little pause, for he had no doubt that Mrs. Garth knew everything about the bill, and he must in the end speak of it before her, if not to her solely.
“我想和加思先生谈一谈，”弗雷德说，还没有准备说更多–“然后和你谈，”他在稍稍停顿后补充道，因为他确信加思太太对这件账单的事情了如指掌，最终他必须在她面前或者只对她说起。

“Caleb will be in again in a few minutes,” said Mrs. Garth, who imagined some trouble between Fred and his father. —
“凯勒估计马上就会回来了，”加思太太说，以为弗雷德和他父亲之间出了些麻烦。 —

“He is sure not to be long, because he has some work at his desk that must be done this morning. —
“他肯定不会耽搁太久，因为他今天上午有些桌上的工作，必须得做。 —

Do you mind staying with me, while I finish my matters here?”
你介意在我忙完手头事之前和我待会儿吗？”

“But we needn’t go on about Cincinnatus, need we?” —
“但是我们不需要继续讨论西西奈图斯，对吗？ —

said Ben, who had taken Fred’s whip out of his hand, and was trying its efficiency on the cat.
”班说，从弗雷德手中拿过鞭子，并试验着它的效果，用来打猫。

“No, go out now. But put that whip down. How very mean of you to whip poor old Tortoise! —
“不要，现在出去吧。但把那根鞭子放下。你打可怜的老龟真是太卑鄙了！ —

Pray take the whip from him, Fred.”
请把鞭子拿走，弗雷德。”

“Come, old boy, give it me,” said Fred, putting out his hand.
“来吧，老兄，给我，”弗雷德伸手。

“Will you let me ride on your horse to-day?” —
“今天你会让我骑你的马吗？ —

said Ben, rendering up the whip, with an air of not being obliged to do it.
”班说着，带着一种不情愿的样子把鞭子还给了弗雷德。

“Not to-day–another time. I am not riding my own horse.”
“不是今天–改天吧。我今天不骑自己的马。”

“Shall you see Mary to-day?”
“你今天会见到玛丽吗？”

“Yes, I think so,” said Fred, with an unpleasant twinge.
“是的，我想是的，”弗雷德说，带着一丝不愉快。

“Tell her to come home soon, and play at forfeits, and make fun.”
“告诉她快点回家，在这里玩捉迷藏，开开玩笑。”

“Enough, enough, Ben! run away,” said Mrs. Garth, seeing that Fred was teased…
“够了，够了，本！快跑开，”加斯太夫人看到弗雷德被逗得不舒服就说。

“Are Letty and Ben your only pupils now, Mrs. Garth?” —
“莱蒂和本是你现在唯一的学生吗，加斯太夫人？” —

said Fred, when the children were gone and it was needful to say something that would pass the time. He was not yet sure whether he should wait for Mr. Garth, or use any good opportunity in conversation to confess to Mrs. Garth herself, give her the money and ride away.
当孩子们走了，需要说一些能打发时间的事情时，弗雷德说。他还没确定是等加斯先生呢，还是趁交谈时适时向加斯夫人坦白，交出钱，骑走。

“One–only one. Fanny Hackbutt comes at half past eleven. —
“只有一个—只有一个。范妮·哈克伯特在十一点半过来。” —

I am not getting a great income now,” said Mrs. Garth, smiling. “I am at a low ebb with pupils. —
“我现在的收入不高，”加斯太夫人笑着说。“学生很少。” —

But I have saved my little purse for Alfred’s premium: I have ninety-two pounds. —
“但我已经为阿尔弗雷德的学费存了一点钱：我有九十二英镑。” —

He can go to Mr. Hanmer’s now; he is just at the right age.”
“他现在可以去汉默先生那里了；他正好到了适合的年龄。”

This did not lead well towards the news that Mr. Garth was on the brink of losing ninety-two pounds and more. —
这不是个好兆头，暗示加斯先生濒临失去九十二英镑甚至更多的消息。 —

Fred was silent. “Young gentlemen who go to college are rather more costly than that,” Mrs. Garth innocently continued, pulling out the edging on a cap-border. —
弗雷德沉默了。“去大学的年轻绅士比那要贵一些，”加斯太夫人无心揭破，一边拽着帽边上的花边。 —

“And Caleb thinks that Alfred will turn out a distinguished engineer: —
“而卡勒布认为阿尔弗雷德会成为一名杰出的工程师： —

he wants to give the boy a good chance. There he is! —
他想给这个男孩一个好机会。他来了！ —

I hear him coming in. We will go to him in the parlor, shall we?”
我听到他进来了。我们去客厅找他，好吗？”

When they entered the parlor Caleb had thrown down his hat and was seated at his desk.
他们走进客厅时，卡勒布已经把帽子扔下，坐在书桌前。

“What! Fred, my boy!” he said, in a tone of mild surprise, holding his pen still undipped; —
“什么！弗雷德，我的孩子！”他惊讶地说，还拿着没蘸墨水的笔。 —

“you are here betimes.” But missing the usual expression of cheerful greeting in Fred’s face, he immediately added, “Is there anything up at home? —
“你来得很早。” 但是弗雷德脸上平时充满愉快问候的表情缺失了，他立刻补充道，”家里有什么事吗？” —

–anything the matter?”
– 有什么问题吗？

“Yes, Mr. Garth, I am come to tell something that I am afraid will give you a bad opinion of me. —
“加思先生，我来告诉您一件事，恐怕会让您对我产生不好的印象。 —

I am come to tell you and Mrs. Garth that I can’t keep my word. —
我来告诉您和加思夫人，我无法遵守诺言。 —

I can’t find the money to meet the bill after all. I have been unfortunate; —
我终究找不到足够的钱来支付这张票据。我运气不佳； —

I have only got these fifty pounds towards the hundred and sixty.”
我只有这五十英镑，无法支付一百六十英镑。”

While Fred was speaking, he had taken out the notes and laid them on the desk before Mr. Garth. He had burst forth at once with the plain fact, feeling boyishly miserable and without verbal resources. —
在弗雷德说话的同时，他已经取出钞票放在加思先生的桌子上。他马上说出了明显的事实，感觉像个不懂事且痛苦的孩子，无法用言辞表达出来。 —

Mrs. Garth was mutely astonished, and looked at her husband for an explanation. —
加思太太惊讶无语地看着她丈夫，希望他解释一下。 —

Caleb blushed, and after a little pause said–
卡勒布脸红了，停顿一会儿后说：

“Oh, I didn’t tell you, Susan: I put my name to a bill for Fred; —
“哦，我没告诉你，苏珊：我为弗雷德背了一张票据； —

it was for a hundred and sixty pounds. He made sure he could meet it himself.”
金额是一百六十英镑。他确信自己可以自己支付。”

There was an evident change in Mrs. Garth’s face, but it was like a change below the surface of water which remains smooth. —
加思太太脸上出现了明显的变化，但就像水面下的变化一样保持着平静。 —

She fixed her eyes on Fred, saying–
她凝视着弗雷德说：

“I suppose you have asked your father for the rest of the money and he has refused you.”
“我猜你向你父亲要剩下的钱了，而他拒绝了你。”

“No,” said Fred, biting his lip, and speaking with more difficulty; —
“没有，”弗雷德咬着嘴唇，说话更加困难； —

“but I know it will be of no use to ask him; —
但我知道问他是没用的； —

and unless it were of use, I should not like to mention Mr. Garth’s name in the matter.”
除非有用，否则我不想提及加思先生的名字。

“It has come at an unfortunate time,” said Caleb, in his hesitating way, looking down at the notes and nervously fingering the paper, “Christmas upon us–I’m rather hard up just now. —
卡勒布犹豫地说：“这个时间真不巧，圣诞节就要到了，我现在有点拮据。 —

You see, I have to cut out everything like a tailor with short measure. What can we do, Susan? —
你看，我得像个裁缝一样精打细算。苏珊，我们能做些什么？ —

I shall want every farthing we have in the bank. —
我得用上我们银行里的每一分钱。 —

It’s a hundred and ten pounds, the deuce take it!”
这是一百一十镑，该死的！”

“I must give you the ninety-two pounds that I have put by for Alfred’s premium,” said Mrs. Garth, gravely and decisively, though a nice ear might have discerned a slight tremor in some of the words. —
加思太太庄重而果断地说道：“我要把我为阿尔弗雷德的学费存下来的九十二镑给你。” —

“And I have no doubt that Mary has twenty pounds saved from her salary by this time. —
“而且我相信玛丽目前已经有了二十镑从她的工资里省下来了。 —

She will advance it.”
她会借给我们的。”

Mrs. Garth had not again looked at Fred, and was not in the least calculating what words she should use to cut him the most effectively. —
加思太太再次没有看弗雷德，也没有在计算如何用最有效的言辞伤害他。 —

Like the eccentric woman she was, she was at present absorbed in considering what was to be done, and did not fancy that the end could be better achieved by bitter remarks or explosions. —
像她这样怪异的女人此刻全神贯注于考虑接下来该怎么办，她并没有想象苦口婆心或者大发雷霆能更好地达到目的。 —

But she had made Fred feel for the first time something like the tooth of remorse. —
不过她第一次让弗雷德感到了一丝懊悔的滋味。 —

Curiously enough, his pain in the affair beforehand had consisted almost entirely in the sense that he must seem dishonorable, and sink in the opinion of the Garths: —
奇怪的是，在事情发生之前，他的痛苦几乎完全来源于他必须看起来不诚实，让加思一家对他失望： —

he had not occupied himself with the inconvenience and possible injury that his breach might occasion them, for this exercise of the imagination on other people’s needs is not common with hopeful young gentlemen. —
他没有考虑到自己的违约可能给他们带来的不便和损失，因为年轻有为的绅士们很少想象到对别人的需要。 —

Indeed we are most of us brought up in the notion that the highest motive for not doing a wrong is something irrespective of the beings who would suffer the wrong. —
实际上，我们大多数人都被教导认为不做错事的最高动机是与遭受错误的人们无关的某种东西。 —

But at this moment he suddenly saw himself as a pitiful rascal who was robbing two women of their savings.
但此刻，他突然看到自己是一个可怜的恶棍，正在抢夺两个女人的积蓄。

“I shall certainly pay it all, Mrs. Garth–ultimately,” he stammered out.
“我肯定最终会付清，加斯太太，”他结结巴巴地说。

“Yes, ultimately,” said Mrs. Garth, who having a special dislike to fine words on ugly occasions, could not now repress an epigram. —
“是的，最终，”加斯太太说道，她特别讨厌在难看的场合说华丽辞藻，此刻也忍不住说了一句讽刺之言。 —

“But boys cannot well be apprenticed ultimately: they should be apprenticed at fifteen.” —
“但年轻人最好不要在最终时才开始学徒：他们应该在十五岁时就开始学徒。” —

She had never been so little inclined to make excuses for Fred.
她从未如此不愿为弗雷德找借口。

“I was the most in the wrong, Susan,” said Caleb. “Fred made sure of finding the money. —
“我错得最厉害，苏珊，”迦勒说。“弗雷德肯定能找到那笔钱。 —

But I’d no business to be fingering bills. —
但我不应该去摸账单。 —

I suppose you have looked all round and tried all honest means?” —
我想你已经四处寻找过，尽了一切正当的手段了吗？” —

he added, fixing his merciful gray eyes on Fred. Caleb was too delicate, to specify Mr. Featherstone.
他补充道，把仁慈的灰色眼睛盯向弗雷德。迦勒太过委婉，不去特别提醒费瑟斯通先生。

“Yes, I have tried everything–I really have. —
“是的，我尽力了——我真的是。 —

I should have had a hundred and thirty pounds ready but for a misfortune with a horse which I was about to sell. —
本来我应该有一百三十镑准备好的，但因为一匹我打算卖掉的马出了个意外而损失了。 —

My uncle had given me eighty pounds, and I paid away thirty with my old horse in order to get another which I was going to sell for eighty or more–I meant to go without a horse– but now it has turned out vicious and lamed itself. —
我叔叔给了我八十镑，我用三十镑换了匹旧马，打算再卖掉赚八十镑或更多——我本来不想要马——但现在它变凶猛，还把自己搞伤了。 —

I wish I and the horses too had been at the devil, before I had brought this on you. —
真希望我和那些马都去见鬼吧，免得我给你们惹这趟。 —

There’s no one else I care so much for: you and Mrs. Garth have always been so kind to me. —
没别人我在乎得多：你和加斯太太对我一直那么好。 —

However, it’s no use saying that. You will always think me a rascal now.”
无论如何，说也没用了。你们现在永远会把我当作恶棍看待。”

Fred turned round and hurried out of the room, conscious that he was getting rather womanish, and feeling confusedly that his being sorry was not of much use to the Garths. —
弗雷德转身匆匆离开房间，意识到自己变得有些女性化，感到困惑的是他的歉意对加思一家并没有太大帮助。 —

They could see him mount, and quickly pass through the gate.
他们看到他骑马离开，迅速通过大门。

“I am disappointed in Fred Vincy,” said Mrs. Garth. “I would not have believed beforehand that he would have drawn you into his debts. —
“我对弗雷德·温茨感到失望,“嘎斯太太说。”事先我无法相信他会将你卷入他的债务之中。 —

I knew he was extravagant, but I did not think that he would be so mean as to hang his risks on his oldest friend, who could the least afford to lose.”
我知道他挥霍无度，但我没想到他会如此卑鄙，将风险转嫁到他最老的朋友身上，而这位朋友最不堪承受.”

“I was a fool, Susan:”
“我是个傻瓜，苏珊:”

“That you were,” said the wife, nodding and smiling. —
“你确实是，”妻子说着点头微笑。 —

“But I should not have gone to publish it in the market-place. —
“但我不应该到处张扬这件事。 —

Why should you keep such things from me? It is just so with your buttons: —
你为什么要瞒着我呢?就像你的纽扣一样: —

you let them burst off without telling me, and go out with your wristband hanging. —
你让它们突然掉落，也不告诉我，整个袖口就挂在那里。 —

If I had only known I might have been ready with some better plan.”
如果我早知道，也许就准备了更好的方案.”

“You are sadly cut up, I know, Susan,” said Caleb, looking feelingly at her. —
“你心痛得很厉害，我知道，苏珊,” 卡勒布感情地看着她说。 —

“I can’t abide your losing the money you’ve scraped together for Alfred.”
“我无法容忍你失去为阿尔弗雷德攒下的钱.”

“It is very well that I had scraped it together; —
“我好在真的攒了这点钱; —

and it is you who will have to suffer, for you must teach the boy yourself. —
而这个损失会落在你头上，因为你必须亲自教导这个男孩。 —

You must give up your bad habits. Some men take to drinking, and you have taken to working without pay. —
你必须改掉你的坏习惯。有些人变成酗酒者，而你变成了无报酬工作的人。” —

You must indulge yourself a little less in that. —
你必须少一点放纵自己。 —

And you must ride over to Mary, and ask the child what money she has.”
你必须骑过去找玛丽，问问她有多少钱。

Caleb had pushed his chair back, and was leaning forward, shaking his head slowly, and fitting his finger-tips together with much nicety.
卡勒布往后移了椅子，倾身向前，缓缓摇头，把指尖精确地对合在一起。

“Poor Mary!” he said. “Susan,” he went on in a lowered tone, “I’m afraid she may be fond of Fred.”
“可怜的玛丽！”他说道。“苏珊，”他小声说，“我担心她可能喜欢弗雷德。”

“Oh no! She always laughs at him; and he is not likely to think of her in any other than a brotherly way.”
“哦不！她总是笑话他；他不太可能以其他方式想到她。”

Caleb made no rejoinder, but presently lowered his spectacles, drew up his chair to the desk, and said, “Deuce take the bill– I wish it was at Hanover! —
卡勒布没有作出回应，但随后放下眼镜，拉起椅子坐到书桌前，说，“该死的账单——我希望它在汉诺威！ —

These things are a sad interruption to business!”
这些事情让生意中断得很厉害！”

The first part of this speech comprised his whole store of maledictory expression, and was uttered with a slight snarl easy to imagine. —
这段话的前半部分包含了他所有的诅咒之词，以一种很容易想象的轻声咆哮说出。 —

But it would be difficult to convey to those who never heard him utter the word “business,” the peculiar tone of fervid veneration, of religious regard, in which he wrapped it, as a consecrated symbol is wrapped in its gold-fringed linen.
但对于那些从未听过他说“生意”这个词的人来说，要传达出他所包裹这个词的特殊狂热敬畏的语调是很困难的，一种像用金边亚麻包裹圣物的方式。

Caleb Garth often shook his head in meditation on the value, the indispensable might of that myriad-headed, myriad-handed labor by which the social body is fed, clothed, and housed. —
卡勒布·加思常常摇着头冥想着那些为社会身体提供食物、衣服和住所的无数头无数手的劳动的价值，不可或缺的力量。 —

It had laid hold of his imagination in boyhood. —
这在他童年时期就占据了他的想象力。 —

The echoes of the great hammer where roof or keel were a-making, the signal-shouts of the workmen, the roar of the furnace, the thunder and plash of the engine, were a sublime music to him; —
大锤的回响，屋顶或龙骨的制造工程发出的信号喊声，工人的吼叫声，熔炉的轰鸣声，发动机的轰鸣声和飞溅声，对他来说都是一种崇高的音乐； —

the felling and lading of timber, and the huge trunk vibrating star-like in the distance along the highway, the crane at work on the wharf, the piled-up produce in warehouses, the precision and variety of muscular effort wherever exact work had to be turned out,–all these sights of his youth had acted on him as poetry without the aid of the poets. —
伐木，装载木材，远处轰鸣声如星星闪烁的巨大树干沿着公路传来的振动声，码头上工作的起重机，仓库里堆积的产品，准确的工作所需的肌肉努力的精准和多样性，无论何时需要精确的工作，所有这些他年轻时看到的景象都像是诗歌一样打动了他； —

had made a philosophy for him without the aid of philosophers, a religion without the aid of theology. —
没有诗人的帮助，对他制造了一种哲学，没有哲学家的帮助，对他形成了一种宗教。 —

His early ambition had been to have as effective a share as possible in this sublime labor, which was peculiarly dignified by him with the name of “business;” —
他早期的抱负是尽可能有效地参与这种崇高的劳动，他特别尊敬地称之为“生意”； —

and though he had only been a short time under a surveyor, and had been chiefly his own teacher, he knew more of land, building, and mining than most of the special men in the county.
尽管他只在一名测量员手下工作了很短的时间，而且主要是自学，但他对土地、建筑和矿业的了解比该县大多数专业人士都要多。

His classification of human employments was rather crude, and, like the categories of more celebrated men, would not be acceptable in these advanced times. —
他对人类职业的分类相当粗糙，就像更多知名人士的分类一样，在这个先进的时代，他的分类并不被接受。 —

He divided them into “business, politics, preaching, learning, and amusement.” —
他将它们分为“业务、政治、布道、学问和娱乐”。 —

He had nothing to say against the last four; —
他对后面四项没有什么可说的; —

but he regarded them as a reverential pagan regarded other gods than his own. —
但他将它们看作一个虔诚的异教徒看待除自己之神以外的其他神。 —

In the same way, he thought very well of all ranks, but he would not himself have liked to be of any rank in which he had not such close contact with “business” as to get often honorably decorated with marks of dust and mortar, the damp of the engine, or the sweet soil of the woods and fields. —
同样地，他对所有阶层都有很高的评价，但他不会喜欢自己处在他没有与“业务”有密切联系以多次光荣地被灰尘和砂浆、发动机潮湿或田园间的甜美土壤装饰的任何阶层。 —

Though he had never regarded himself as other than an orthodox Christian, and would argue on prevenient grace if the subject were proposed to him, I think his virtual divinities were good practical schemes, accurate work, and the faithful completion of undertakings: —
尽管从未把自己看作是正统的基督徒，如果有人向他提议这个话题，他会谈论先见之恩，我认为他的真正信仰是善良的实践计划、精确的工作和忠实地完成工作: —

his prince of darkness was a slack workman. —
他把懒散的工人看作是黑暗的王子。 —

But there was no spirit of denial in Caleb, and the world seemed so wondrous to him that he was ready to accept any number of systems, like any number of firmaments, if they did not obviously interfere with the best land-drainage, solid building, correct measuring, and judicious boring (for coal). —
但Caleb没有拒绝的精神，对他来说，这个世界是如此神奇，以至于他愿意接受任何数量的体系，就像任何数量的宇宙，只要它们不明显地干扰到最佳的土地排水、牢固的建筑、正确的测量和明智的钻探（为了煤）。 —

In fact, he had a reverential soul with a strong practical intelligence. —
事实上，他有一颗虔诚的灵魂和一种强大的实际智慧。 —

But he could not manage finance: he knew values well, but he had no keenness of imagination for monetary results in the shape of profit and loss: —
但他管理不了财务：他很了解价值，但对于货币结果，如利润和损失，他没有敏锐的想象力: —

and having ascertained this to his cost, he determined to give up all forms of his beloved “business” which required that talent. —
并且他为此付出了代价，决定放弃所有需要这种才能的他所爱的“业务”。 —

He gave himself up entirely to the many kinds of work which he could do without handling capital, and was one of those precious men within his own district whom everybody would choose to work for them, because he did his work well, charged very little, and often declined to charge at all. —
他完全投身于那些不需要处理资本的各种工作，并且是他们所在地区的宝贵人才之一，每个人都愿意让他们为自己工作，因为他的工作质量很好，收费很少，而且经常拒绝收费。 —

It is no wonder, then, that the Garths were poor, and “lived in a small way.” —
因此，格思一家很穷，“生活在一个小规模”。 —

However, they did not mind it.
然而，他们并不在意。