“Mercifully grant that we may grow aged together.” —BOOK OF TOBIT: Marriage Prayer.
“慈悲地赐予我们共同变老的机会。”—《托比书：婚姻祈祷》。

In Middlemarch a wife could not long remain ignorant that the town held a bad opinion of her husband. No feminine intimate might carry her friendship so far as to make a plain statement to the wife of the unpleasant fact known or believed about her husband; —-
在《米德尔马奇》，一个妻子不可能长时间不知道镇上对她丈夫抱有不好的看法。没有一个亲密的女性朋友会走得太近，以至于向妻子明确告诉她有关她丈夫的不愉快的事实，或者所知道或相信的情况； —-

but when a woman with her thoughts much at leisure got them suddenly employed on something grievously disadvantageous to her neighbors, various moral impulses were called into play which tended to stimulate utterance. —-
但当一个心思空闲的女人突然开始关注有关邻居的严重不利的事情时，各种道德冲动被唤醒，促使她说话。 —-

Candor was one. To be candid, in Middlemarch phraseology, meant, to use an early opportunity of letting your friends know that you did not take a cheerful view of their capacity, their conduct, or their position; —-
坦率是其中一种。在《米德尔马奇》的说法中，坦率意味着利用早期机会让你的朋友知道，你并不看好他们的能力、行为或地位； —-

and a robust candor never waited to be asked for its opinion. —-
一个强硬的坦率从不等待被要求发表意见。 —-

Then, again, there was the love of truth—a wide phrase, but meaning in this relation, a lively objection to seeing a wife look happier than her husband’s character warranted, or manifest too much satisfaction in her lot—the poor thing should have some hint given her that if she knew the truth she would have less complacency in her bonnet, and in light dishes for a supper-party. —-
而另一方面，爱真理也是一种。在这种关系中，爱真理意味着坚决反对看到妻子比丈夫的性格更加令人愉快，或者在她的地位上显露出太多满足—可怜的人应该得到一些暗示，告诉她如果她知道真相，她对帽子和晚餐派对中的轻薄食品就会感到更少的满足感。 —-

Stronger than all, there was the regard for a friend’s moral improvement, sometimes called her soul, which was likely to be benefited by remarks tending to gloom, uttered with the accompaniment of pensive staring at the furniture and a manner implying that the speaker would not tell what was on her mind, from regard to the feelings of her hearer. —-
最重要的是，还有对朋友道德改进的关注，有时被称作她的灵魂，这可能会受益于引起愁思的评语，与没有直接说出心中所想的方式相结合，暗示说话者出于对听者感情的尊重不想透露心中真实想法。 —-

On the whole, one might say that an ardent charity was at work setting the virtuous mind to make a neighbor unhappy for her good.
总的来说，可以说是一种热忱的慈善活动促使善良的心灵使邻居为她的利益而不快乐。

There were hardly any wives in Middlemarch whose matrimonial misfortunes would in different ways be likely to call forth more of this moral activity than Rosamond and her aunt Bulstrode. —-
在米德尔马奇，几乎没有哪位妻子的婚姻不幸会以不同的方式引发更多这种道德活动，比如罗莎蒙德和她的姨母布尔斯特罗德。 —-

Mrs. Bulstrode was not an object of dislike, and had never consciously injured any human being. —-
布尔斯特罗德夫人不是一个讨人厌的对象，从来没有故意伤害过任何人。 —-

Men had always thought her a handsome comfortable woman, and had reckoned it among the signs of Bulstrode’s hypocrisy that he had chosen a red-blooded Vincy, instead of a ghastly and melancholy person suited to his low esteem for earthly pleasure. —-
男性们一直认为她是一个漂亮舒适的女人，并认为布尔斯特罗德选择一位红润的温西（Vincy）而不是一个适合他对尘世快乐低估的苍白忧郁的人，这是他虚伪的迹象。 —-

When the scandal about her husband was disclosed they remarked of her—“Ah, poor woman! —-
当有关她丈夫的丑闻曝光时，人们评论道她—“啊，可怜的女人！ —-

She’s as honest as the day—she never suspected anything wrong in him, you may depend on it.” —-
她像白天一样诚实—你可以相信她从未怀疑他有错。” —-

Women, who were intimate with her, talked together much of “poor Harriet,” imagined what her feelings must be when she came to know everything, and conjectured how much she had already come to know. —-
熟悉她的女性之间经常谈到“可怜的哈丽特”，想象她一旦知道一切时的感受，猜测她已经了解了多少。 —-

There was no spiteful disposition towards her; —-
没有对她的恶意倾向； —-

rather, there was a busy benevolence anxious to ascertain what it would be well for her to feel and do under the circumstances, which of course kept the imagination occupied with her character and history from the times when she was Harriet Vincy till now. —-
相反，这里有一个忙碌的善良之心，渴望弄清在这种情况下她应该如何感觉和做什么，这当然使想象力从她还是哈丽特·温西直到现在一直忙于她的性格和历史。 —-

With the review of Mrs. Bulstrode and her position it was inevitable to associate Rosamond, whose prospects were under the same blight with her aunt’s. —-
对于布尔斯特罗德夫人和她的处境的审视不可避免地会与罗莎蒙联系在一起，她的前景也同样受到了 aunt’s 的影响。 —-

Rosamond was more severely criticised and less pitied, though she too, as one of the good old Vincy family who had always been known in Middlemarch, was regarded as a victim to marriage with an interloper. —-
罗莎蒙遭受了更严厉的批评，少得了同情，尽管她也是文西家族的一员，一直在米德尔马奇人们熟知的家族，被视为与外来者结婚的受害者。 —-

The Vincys had their weaknesses, but then they lay on the surface: —-
文西家族有他们的缺点，但它们只存在表面上： 他们身上从未有任何坏事会”找出”来。 —-

there was never anything bad to be “found out” concerning them. —-
布尔斯特罗德夫人从来没有被认同与她的丈夫相似。 —-

Mrs. Bulstrode was vindicated from any resemblance to her husband. —-
哈瑞特的过失都是她自己的。 —-

Harriet’s faults were her own.
“她总是爱出风头” ，Hackbutt 太太为一小群人煮茶时说，”尽管为了与丈夫一致，她已经开始突出她的宗教； 她试图通过邀请来自 Riverston 和其他地方的牧师和只有天知道从哪里来的人，来在米德尔马奇高人一等。”

“She has always been showy,” said Mrs. Hackbutt, making tea for a small party, “though she has got into the way of putting her religion forward, to conform to her husband; —-
“我们几乎无法责怪她”，Sprague 太太说； —-

she has tried to hold her head up above Middlemarch by making it known that she invites clergymen and heaven-knows-who from Riverston and those places.”
“因为该镇上极少为数的上等人愿意与巴尔斯特罗德来往，她必须找人坐在她的餐桌旁边。”

“We can hardly blame her for that,” said Mrs. Sprague; —-
“塞奇先生一直支持他”，Hackbutt 太太说。”我想他现在可能会后悔。” —-

“because few of the best people in the town cared to associate with Balstrode, and she must have somebody to sit down at her table.”
“但大家都知道他心里从来不喜欢他”，Tom Toller 太太说。

“Mr. Thesiger has always countenanced him,” said Mrs. Hackbutt. “I think he must be sorry now.”
“塞奇先生从不偏向极端。他在福音事工中保持真理。那些想使用非国教诗歌书和低劣宗教的牧师，才会喜欢巴尔斯特罗德。”

“But he was never fond of him in his heart—that every one knows,” said Mrs. Tom Toller. —-
“特索尔先生从来没有偏袒过他”，Hackbutt 太太说。”我觉得他现在可能会后悔。” —-

“Mr. Thesiger never goes into extremes. He keeps to the truth in what is evangelical. —-
“但他心里绝对不喜欢他—每个人都知道”，Tom Toller 太太说。 —-

It is only clergymen like Mr. Tyke, who want to use Dissenting hymn-books and that low kind of religion, who ever found Bulstrode to their taste.”
“塞奇先生从不走极端。他在福音事工中保持真理。只有像泰克先生那样要使用非国教诗歌书和那种低级宗教的牧师，才会对巴尔斯特罗德青睐有加。”

“I understand, Mr. Tyke is in great distress about him,” said Mrs. Hackbutt. —-
“我明白，泰克先生对他感到非常不安心，”哈克巴特夫人说道。 —-

“And well he may be: they say the Bulstrodes have half kept the Tyke family.”
“他可能有充分的理由：他们说布尔斯特罗德家为泰克家提供了一半的资助。”

“And of coarse it is a discredit to his doctrines,” said Mrs. Sprague, who was elderly, and old-fashioned in her opinions.
“当然这对他的信条是一种耻辱，”年长且保守的斯普雷格夫人说道。

“People will not make a boast of being methodistical in Middlemarch for a good while to come.”
“在接下来的一段时间里，人们在米德尔马奇不会再以所谓的方法论为荣了。”

“I think we must not set down people’s bad actions to their religion,” said falcon-faced Mrs. Plymdale, who had been listening hitherto.
“我认为我们不应该把人们的坏行为归咎于他们的宗教信仰，”一直在听的鹰面波姆戴尔夫人说道。

“Oh, my dear, we are forgetting,” said Mrs. Sprague. —-
“哦，亲爱的，我们都忘了，”斯普雷格夫人说道。 —-

“We ought not to be talking of this before you.”
“我们不应该在你面前谈论这些事。”

“I am sure I have no reason to be partial,” said Mrs. Plymdale, coloring. —-
“我可以确定我没有偏袒的理由，”波姆戴尔夫人脸红了。 —-

“It’s true Mr. Plymdale has always been on good terms with Mr. Bulstrode, and Harriet Vincy was my friend long before she married him. —-
“毫无疑问，皮姆戴尔先生一直和布尔斯特罗德先生关系很好，而哈丽特·温西在嫁给他之前就是我的朋友。” —-

But I have always kept my own opinions and told her where she was wrong, poor thing. —-
“但我一直坚持我自己的观点，并告诉她错在哪里，可怜的家伙。” —-

Still, in point of religion, I must say, Mr. Bulstrode might have done what he has, and worse, and yet have been a man of no religion. —-
“但就宗教而言，我必须说，布尔斯特罗德先生可能会做出他现在的所作所为，甚至更糟，但却并无宗教信仰。” —-

I don’t say that there has not been a little too much of that—I like moderation myself. —-
“我不是说过度是不好的—我喜欢中庸自持。” —-

But truth is truth. The men tried at the assizes are not all over-religious, I suppose.”
“但事实就是事实。在大陪审团庭审的那些人中，恐怕并非全都过分信奉宗教。”

“Well,” said Mrs. Hackbutt, wheeling adroitly, “all I can say is, that I think she ought to separate from him.”
“嗯，”哈克巴特夫人熟练地转移话题，“我觉得她应该和他分开。”

“I can’t say that,” said Mrs. Sprague. “She took him for better or worse, you know.”
“我不能说出那种话，”斯普雷格夫人说，“她接受了他的优点和缺点，你懂的。”

“But worse' can never mean finding out that your husband is fit for Newgate," said Mrs. Hackbutt. --- <span><tang1>"但更糟’永远不可能意味着发现你的丈夫适合被关进牢狱,”哈克巴太太说。 —-

“Fancy living with such a man! I should expect to be poisoned.”
“想想和这样一个男人住在一起！我会觉得自己会被毒害。

“Yes, I think myself it is an encouragement to crime if such men are to be taken care of and waited on by good wives,” said Mrs. Tom Toller.
“是的，我认为如果这样的男人可以被好妻子关照和侍候，这对犯罪是一种鼓励,”汤姆·托勒太太说。

“And a good wife poor Harriet has been,” said Mrs. Plymdale. —-
“而哈丽特是一个好妻子,”普利姆代尔太太说。 —-

“She thinks her husband the first of men. —-
“她认为她的丈夫是最好的男人。 —-

It’s true he has never denied her anything.”
事实上他从来没有拒绝过她任何事情。

“Well, we shall see what she will do,” said Mrs. Hackbutt. —-
“好吧，我们会看到她会怎么做,”哈克巴太太说。 —-

“I suppose she knows nothing yet, poor creature. —-
“我想她现在一无所知，可怜的家伙。 —-

I do hope and trust I shall not see her, for I should be frightened to death lest I should say anything about her husband. —-
我真心希望我不会见到她，因为我会被吓得要死怕自己会说到她丈夫的事情。 —-

Do you think any hint has reached her?”
你认为有什么暗示传达到她那里了吗？”

“I should hardly think so,” said Mrs. Tom Toller. —-
“我想不太可能,”汤姆·托勒太太说。 —-

“We hear that he is ill, and has never stirred out of the house since the meeting on Thursday; —-
“我们听说他病了，自从星期四的会议后就没有离开过家; —-

but she was with her girls at church yesterday, and they had new Tuscan bonnets. —-
但她昨天跟她的女儿们一起去教堂了，她们戴着新的图斯卡尼帽。 —-

Her own had a feather in it. I have never seen that her religion made any difference in her dress.”
她自己的帽子上别着一根羽毛。我从未看到她的宗教信仰在服饰上有任何不同。

“She wears very neat patterns always,” said Mrs. Plymdale, a little stung. —-
“她总是穿着非常整齐的款式,”普利姆代尔太太有点受伤。 —-

“And that feather I know she got dyed a pale lavender on purpose to be consistent. —-
“而那根羽毛，我知道她特意染成淡紫色以保持一致。” —-

I must say it of Harriet that she wishes to do right.”
“我必须说，哈里特是想尽力做到正确。”

“As to her knowing what has happened, it can’t be kept from her long,” said Mrs. Hackbutt. —-
“至于她知道发生了什么，无法瞒住她很久，”哈克巴特夫人说。 —-

“The Vincys know, for Mr. Vincy was at the meeting. —-
“温西家知道，因为温西先生在会议上。 —-

It will he a great blow to him. There is his daughter as well as his sister.”
这对他来说将是一个重大打击。他有女儿和姐妹。”

“Yes, indeed,” said Mrs. Sprague. “Nobody supposes that Mr. Lydgate can go on holding up his head in Middlemarch, things look so black about the thousand pounds he took just at that man’s death. —-
“是的，确实，”斯普雷格夫人说。“没人认为利德格特先生还能在米德尔马奇昂首挺胸，情况看起来如此不妙，关于他在那个人死后拿到的一千英镑。” —-

It really makes one shudder.”
“真的让人毛骨悚然。”

“Pride must have a fall,” said Mrs. Hackbutt.
“骄傲必定滔天下，”哈克巴特夫人说。

“I am not so sorry for Rosamond Vincy that was as I am for her aunt,” said Mrs. Plymdale. —-
“我对罗莎蒙德·温西并不像对她姨妈那样难过，”普林代尔夫人说。 —-

“She needed a lesson.”
“她需要一课。”

“I suppose the Bulstrodes will go and live abroad somewhere,” said Mrs. Sprague. —-
“我想布尔斯特罗德一家会去国外住吧，”斯普雷格夫人说。 —-

“That is what is generally done when there is anything disgraceful in a family.”
“当一个家庭有不光彩的事情发生时，通常会这样。”

“And a most deadly blow it will be to Harriet,” said Mrs. Plymdale. —-
“而对哈里特来说，这将是一个致命的打击，”普林代尔夫人说。 —-

“If ever a woman was crushed, she will be. I pity her from my heart. —-
“如果有一个女人被击垮了，她将是那个女人。我由衷地同情她。 —-

And with all her faults, few women are better. —-
“尽管她有缺点，但很少有女人比她更好。” —-

From a girl she had the neatest ways, and was always good-hearted, and as open as the day. —-
有一个女孩，她总是那么整洁、善良，心地纯真。 —-

You might look into her drawers when you would—always the same. —-
当你想看她的抽屉时总是一样的。 —-

And so she has brought up Kate and Ellen. You may think how hard it will be for her to go among foreigners.”
因此她带大了凯特和埃伦。你可以想象她去外国会有多么困难。

“The doctor says that is what he should recommend the Lydgates to do,” said Mrs. Sprague. —-
“医生说他应该建议莱德格特夫妇这么做，”斯普雷格夫人说。 —-

“He says Lydgate ought to have kept among the French.”
“他说莱德格特应该和法国人交往。

“That would suit her well enough, I dare say,” said Mrs. Plymdale; —-
“这对她来说可能很合适，我敢说，”普林代尔夫人说； —-

“there is that kind of lightness about her. But she got that from her mother; —-
“她的确有那种轻松的感觉。但这是她从她母亲那里继承来的； —-

she never got it from her aunt Bulstrode, who always gave her good advice, and to my knowledge would rather have had her marry elsewhere.”
这不是从布尔斯特罗德夫人那里学来的，她总是给她好建议。而且据我所知，她更愿意看到她嫁给别人。

Mrs. Plymdale was in a situation which caused her some complication of feeling. —-
普林代尔夫人的处境让她感受到一些复杂的情感。 —-

There had been not only her intimacy with Mrs. Bulstrode, but also a profitable business relation of the great Plymdale dyeing house with Mr. Bulstrode, which on the one hand would have inclined her to desire that the mildest view of his character should be the true one, but on the other, made her the more afraid of seeming to palliate his culpability. —-
她与布尔斯特罗德夫人的亲密关系，以及大型普林代尔染料公司与布尔斯特罗德先生之间的利润丰厚的商业关系会使她希望他的品质温和一些，但另一方面，又让她更害怕似乎在为他的过失辩护。 —-

Again, the late alliance of her family with the Tollers had brought her in connection with the best circle, which gratified her in every direction except in the inclination to those serious views which she believed to be the best in another sense. —-
再一次，她的家族与托勒家族的晚期结盟使她与最好的社交圈有了联系，这在各个方面都让她感到满足，除了她所认为的那种严肃观念，她认为那在另一个意义上是最好的。 —-

The sharp little woman’s conscience was somewhat troubled in the adjustment of these opposing “bests,” and of her griefs and satisfactions under late events, which were likely to humble those who needed humbling, but also to fall heavily on her old friend whose faults she would have preferred seeing on a background of prosperity.
这个激动的小女人的良心在调整这些相互冲突的“最好”的时候有些不安，以及在最近的事件中她的悲伤和满足之间也有些不安，这些事件可能会让那些需要被羞辱的人感到羞辱，但也会沉重地落在她这位她宁愿看到在繁荣背景下的老朋友的身上。

Poor Mrs. Bulstrode, meanwhile, had been no further shaken by the oncoming tread of calamity than in the busier stirring of that secret uneasiness which had always been present in her since the last visit of Raffles to The Shrubs. —-
与此同时，可怜的布尔斯特罗德夫人并没有被即将到来的灾难的步步紧逼所摧毁，而是在那种自从拉菲尔斯上次来到灌木村以来一直存在的秘密不安更加激烈的搅动中。 —-

That the hateful man had come ill to Stone Court, and that her husband had chosen to remain there and watch over him, she allowed to be explained by the fact that Raffles had been employed and aided in earlier-days, and that this made a tie of benevolence towards him in his degraded helplessness; —-
可恨的拉菲尔斯病到了斯通庄园，她的丈夫选择留在那里照顾他，她能解释为那个令人讨厌的人在早年曾受过雇并得到帮助，因此这在他堕落的无助中使他们有了一种仁慈的联系； —-

and she had been since then innocently cheered by her husband’s more hopeful speech about his own health and ability to continue his attention to business. —-
从那以后，她一直在以为着她丈夫的更有希望的语言关于他自己的健康和继续专心于生意的能力而感到无辜的欣慰。 —-

The calm was disturbed when Lydgate had brought him home ill from the meeting, and in spite of comforting assurances during the next few days, she cried in private from the conviction that her husband was not suffering from bodily illness merely, but from something that afflicted his mind. —-
当莱德盖德将他带回家时，家中的宁静被打破了，虽然在接下来的几天中，她听到了安慰的保证，但却私下里哭泣，因为她确信丈夫的病并不仅仅是身体上的疾病，而是心灵上的折磨。 —-

He would not allow her to read to him, and scarcely to sit with him, alleging nervous susceptibility to sounds and movements; —-
他不允许她给他读书，几乎不让她和他在一起，声称对声音和动作过敏； —-

yet she suspected that in shutting himself up in his private room he wanted to be busy with his papers. —-
但她怀疑他关在私人房间里是想忙于他的文件。 —-

Something, she felt sure, had happened. Perhaps it was some great loss of money; —-
她确信发生了一些事情。也许是遭受了巨大的金钱损失； —-

and she was kept in the dark. Not daring to question her husband, she said to Lydgate, on the fifth day after the meeting, when she had not left home except to go to church—
而她被蒙在鼓里。不敢询问丈夫，她在与莱德盖德会面的第五天说道，那天她除了去教堂外还没有离开家。

“Mr. Lydgate, pray be open with me: I like to know the truth. —-
“莱德盖德先生，请对我坦诚相待：我想知道真相。 —-

Has anything happened to Mr. Bulstrode?”
布尔斯特罗德先生发生了什么事？”

“Some little nervous shock,” said Lydgate, evasively. —-
“有一点小的神经震动，”莱德盖德含糊地说道。 —-

He felt that it was not for him to make the painful revelation.
他觉得不该由他来做这痛苦的启示。

“But what brought it on?” said Mrs. Bulstrode, looking directly at him with her large dark eyes.
“但是是什么引起了这个？” 布尔斯特罗德夫人直视着他，用她那双黑色大眼睛问道。

“There is often something poisonous in the air of public rooms,” said Lydgate. —-
“公共场所的空气中往往有些有毒的东西，”莱德盖德说。 —-

“Strong men can stand it, but it tells on people in proportion to the delicacy of their systems. —-
“强壮的人可以忍受，但对于那些体质脆弱的人就会有影响。 —-

It is often impossible to account for the precise moment of an attack—or rather, to say why the strength gives way at a particular moment.”
通常很难解释发作的确切时刻—或者说为什么力量在某个特定时刻消失了。

Mrs. Bulstrode was not satisfied with this answer. —-
布尔斯特罗德夫人对这个回答并不满意。 —-

There remained in her the belief that some calamity had befallen her husband, of which she was to be kept in ignorance; —-
她仍然坚信她的丈夫遭遇了一场灾难，而她却被蒙在鼓里； —-

and it was in her nature strongly to object to such concealment. —-
对于这样的隐瞒，她本能地强烈反对。 —-

She begged leave for her daughters to sit with their father, and drove into the town to pay some visits, conjecturing that if anything were known to have gone wrong in Mr. Bulstrode’s affairs, she should see or hear some sign of it.
她请求女儿们和父亲坐在一起，驾车进城拜访，猜想如果布尔斯特罗德先生的事情出了什么问题，她应该会看到或听到一些迹象。

She called on Mrs. Thesiger, who was not at home, and then drove to Mrs. Hackbutt’s on the other side of the churchyard. —-
她拜访了特西格夫人，但对方不在家，然后开车去了教堂对面的哈克巴特夫人那里。 —-

Mrs. Hackbutt saw her coming from an up-stairs window, and remembering her former alarm lest she should meet Mrs. Bulstrode, felt almost bound in consistency to send word that she was not at home; —-
哈克巴特夫人从楼上窗户看到她过来，记得以前她曾为见到布尔斯特罗德夫人而感到惊恐，因此几乎觉得有责任发信息说自己不在家； —-

but against that, there was a sudden strong desire within her for the excitement of an interview in which she was quite determined not to make the slightest allusion to what was in her mind.
但与此相反，她内心突然产生了强烈的渴望，希望能进行一次激动人心的谈话，而她决定绝对不提及心中所想。

Hence Mrs. Bulstrode was shown into the drawing-room, and Mrs. Hackbutt went to her, with more tightness of lip and rubbing of her hands than was usually observable in her, these being precautions adopted against freedom of speech. —-
因此，布尔斯特罗德夫人被领进客厅，哈克巴特夫人忍着嘴唇紧抿、手心摩擦的样子，走向她，这是她为了限制言辞而采取的预防措施。 —-

She was resolved not to ask how Mr. Bulstrode was.
她决定不问布尔斯特罗德先生的情况。

“I have not been anywhere except to church for nearly a week,” said Mrs. Bulstrode, after a few introductory remarks. —-
“我近一个星期几乎除了去教堂外没有去过任何地方,” 布尔斯特罗德夫人开场后说。 —-

“But Mr. Bulstrode was taken so ill at the meeting on Thursday that I have not liked to leave the house.”
“但布尔斯特罗德先生上周四在会议上突然感到不适，我不敢离开家。

Mrs. Hackbutt rubbed the back of one hand with the palm of the other held against her chest, and let her eyes ramble over the pattern on the rug.
哈克巴特夫人用一只手的掌心搓着另一只手的背面，让眼睛在地毯上的图案上游走。

“Was Mr. Hackbutt at the meeting?” persevered Mrs. Bulstrode.
“哈克巴特先生出席了会议吗?” 布尔斯特罗德夫人坚持问。

“Yes, he was,” said Mrs. Hackbutt, with the same attitude. —-
“是的，他出席了,” 哈克巴特夫人态度一样。 —-

“The land is to be bought by subscription, I believe.”
“我相信土地将通过订阅购买.”

“Let us hope that there will be no more cases of cholera to be buried in it,” said Mrs. Bulstrode. —-
“让我们希望不会再有霍乱病例需要埋葬,” 布尔斯特罗德夫人说。 —-

“It is an awful visitation. But I always think Middlemarch a very healthy spot. —-
“这是一场可怕的灾难。但我总觉得Middlemarch是一个非常健康的地方。” —-

I suppose it is being used to it from a child; —-
我想这是从小就习惯了； —-

but I never saw the town I should like to live at better, and especially our end.”
但我从未见过我想居住的小镇比现在更好，尤其是我们这一端。”

“I am sure I should be glad that you always should live at Middlemarch, Mrs. Bulstrode,” said Mrs. Hackbutt, with a slight sigh. —-
“我肯定你会很高兴永远居住在米德尔马奇，布尔斯特罗夫夫人，” 哈克巴特夫人略带叹息地说。 —-

“Still, we must learn to resign ourselves, wherever our lot may be cast. —-
“不过，无论我们的命运如何，我们必须学会接受。” —-

Though I am sure there will always be people in this town who will wish you well.”
“虽然我相信这个镇上总会有人祝福您。”

Mrs. Hackbutt longed to say, “if you take my advice you will part from your husband,” but it seemed clear to her that the poor woman knew nothing of the thunder ready to bolt on her head, and she herself could do no more than prepare her a little. —-
哈克巴特夫人渴望说，“如果你听我的建议，你会和你的丈夫分开”，但显然可怜的女人对即将降临在自己头上的风暴一无所知，而她自己却也无能为力，只能稍作准备。 —-

Mrs. Bulstrode felt suddenly rather chill and trembling: —-
布尔斯特罗夫人感到一阵寒意和颤抖： —-

there was evidently something unusual behind this speech of Mrs. Hackbutt’s; —-
哈克巴特夫人的这番话明显有些不寻常； —-

but though she had set out with the desire to be fully informed, she found herself unable now to pursue her brave purpose, and turning the conversation by an inquiry about the young Hackbutts, she soon took her leave saying that she was going to see Mrs. Plymdale. —-
但尽管她出发时渴望充分了解，现在却无法坚定地继续追求自己的目标，通过询问哈克巴特夫人的孩子们，她很快告辞说她打算去看普林代尔夫人。 —-

On her way thither she tried to imagine that there might have been some unusually warm sparring at the meeting between Mr. Bulstrode and some of his frequent opponents—perhaps Mr. Hackbutt might have been one of them. —-
在去那里的路上，她试图想象，在布尔斯特罗德先生和一些经常反对他的人之间的会面上可能发生了一些异常激烈的争吵——也许哈克巴特先生可能是其中之一。 —-

That would account for everything.
那样一切都能解释。

But when she was in conversation with Mrs. Plymdale that comforting explanation seemed no longer tenable. —-
但当她与普林代尔夫人交谈时，那种令人欣慰的解释似乎不再站得住脚。 —-

“Selina” received her with a pathetic affectionateness and a disposition to give edifying answers on the commonest topics, which could hardly have reference to an ordinary quarrel of which the most important consequence was a perturbation of Mr. Bulstrode’s health. —-
“赛琳娜”以一种令人感伤的情感和对最普通话题上帮助的回答的意愿接待她，这几乎不可能与一场最重要的后果是布尔斯特罗德先生的健康被干扰的普通争吵有关。 —-

Beforehand Mrs. Bulstrode had thought that she would sooner question Mrs. Plymdale than any one else; —-
之前布尔斯特罗夫人曾认为她宁愿向普林代尔夫人提问而不是其他人； —-

but she found to her surprise that an old friend is not always the person whom it is easiest to make a confidant of: —-
但令她惊讶的是，在某些情况下，一个老朋友并不总是最容易成为你的知心朋友的人： —-

there was the barrier of remembered communication under other circumstances— there was the dislike of being pitied and informed by one who had been long wont to allow her the superiority. —-
在其他情况下，存在着记忆沟通的障碍—她不喜欢被久惯了让她占据优势地位的人怜悯和告知。 —-

For certain words of mysterious appropriateness that Mrs. Plymdale let fall about her resolution never to turn her back on her friends, convinced Mrs. Bulstrode that what had happened must be some kind of misfortune, and instead of being able to say with her native directness, “What is it that you have in your mind?” —-
Mrs. Plymdale说的一些神秘恰当的话让Bulstrode夫人相信所发生的事情一定是某种不幸，而不是能够像往常一样直截了当地问：“你在想什么？” —-

she found herself anxious to get away before she had heard anything more explicit. —-
她发现自己急于在听到更具体内容之前就离开。 —-

She began to have an agitating certainty that the misfortune was something more than the mere loss of money, being keenly sensitive to the fact that Selina now, just as Mrs. Hackbutt had done before, avoided noticing what she said about her husband, as they would have avoided noticing a personal blemish.
她开始有一种烦躁的确信，那个不幸绝不仅仅是金钱上的损失，她对于塞琳娜现在避而不谈地像之前的Hackbutt夫人一样不去注意她所说的关于她丈夫的事情感到敏感，就像她们避免去注意一个人的瑕疵一样。

She said good-by with nervous haste, and told the coachman to drive to Mr. Vincy’s warehouse. —-
她匆忙告别，告诉车夫开到文斯先生的仓库。 —-

In that short drive her dread gathered so much force from the sense of darkness, that when she entered the private counting-house where her brother sat at his desk, her knees trembled and her usually florid face was deathly pale. —-
在那段短暂的车程中，由于黑暗的感觉，她的恐惧之情变得更加强烈，所以当她走进她哥哥坐在书桌前的私人办公室时，她的膝盖发软，通常泛红的脸色变得惨白。 —-

Something of the same effect was produced in him by the sight of her: —-
他看到她的时候心情也变得一样。 —-

he rose from his seat to meet her, took her by the hand, and said, with his impulsive rashness—
他从座位上站起来迎接她，握住她的手，冲动地说道—

“God help you, Harriet! you know all.”
“上帝保佑你，哈丽特！你知道了一切。”

That moment was perhaps worse than any which came after. —-
那一刻也许比之后的任何时候都要糟糕。 —-

It contained that concentrated experience which in great crises of emotion reveals the bias of a nature, and is prophetic of the ultimate act which will end an intermediate struggle. —-
那一刻包含了强烈情感的重要经历，揭示了一个人性格的偏见，是对中间挣扎结束的最终行为的预言。 —-

Without that memory of Raffles she might still have thought only of monetary ruin, but now along with her brother’s look and words there darted into her mind the idea of some guilt in her husband—then, under the working of terror came the image of her husband exposed to disgrace— and then, after an instant of scorching shame in which she felt only the eyes of the world, with one leap of her heart she was at his side in mournful but unreproaching fellowship with shame and isolation. —-
如果没有对Raffles的记忆，她也许还只会考虑到金钱上的毁灭，但现在随着她哥哥的表情和话语，她脑海中闪过了她丈夫某种罪行的念头—然后，在恐惧的作用下，她想象到丈夫遭受耻辱—然后，在一瞬间痛苦的羞耻中，她只感觉到世人的目光，她的心一跳，与丈夫站在一起，以哀伤但无怨恨的方式共同承受耻辱和孤立。 —-

All this went on within her in a mere flash of time— while she sank into the chair, and raised her eyes to her brother, who stood over her. —-
所有这一切在她心中转瞬即逝—她坐到椅子上，抬起目光看着站在她身边的哥哥。 —-

“I know nothing, Walter. What is it?” she said, faintly.
“我一无所知，沃尔特。发生了什么事？”她虚弱地说道。

He told her everything, very inartificially, in slow fragments, making her aware that the scandal went much beyond proof, especially as to the end of Raffles.
他非常直截了当地把一切告诉了她，一点一点地，让她意识到丑闻远不仅仅是有关Raffles的结局那么简单。

“People will talk,” he said. “Even if a man has been acquitted by a jury, they’ll talk, and nod and wink—and as far as the world goes, a man might often as well be guilty as not. —-
“人们会说,”他说。“即使一个人被陪审团宣判无罪，他们也会说个不停，眼神示意，总的来说，一个人宁可有罪也不要无罪。 —-

It’s a breakdown blow, and it damages Lydgate as much as Bulstrode. —-
这是一个毁灭性的打击，对莱德盖特的伤害不亚于对布尔斯特罗德。 —-

I don’t pretend to say what is the truth. —-
我不敢说什么是真相。 —-

I only wish we had never heard the name of either Bulstrode or Lydgate. —-
我只希望我们永远不要听到布尔斯特罗德或莱德盖特这两个名字。 —-

You’d better have been a Vincy all your life, and so had Rosamond.” —-
你最好一直是文西家的人，罗莎蒙德也是如此。” —-

Mrs. Bulstrode made no reply.
布尔斯特罗夫人没有回应。

“But you must bear up as well as you can, Harriet. People don’t blame you. —-
“但你必须尽力挺住，哈里特。人们不怪责你。 —-

And I’ll stand by you whatever you make up your mind to do,” said the brother, with rough but well-meaning affectionateness.
不管你决定要做什么，我都会支持你，”哥哥粗鲁但出自善意地说。

“Give me your arm to the carriage, Walter,” said Mrs. Bulstrode. “I feel very weak.”
“沃尔特，扶我到马车上去，”布尔斯特罗夫人说。“我感到很虚弱。”

And when she got home she was obliged to say to her daughter, “I am not well, my dear; —-
回到家后，她不得不对女儿说，“我不舒服，亲爱的； —-

I must go and lie down. Attend to your papa. —-
我必须去躺下。照顾好你爸爸。 —-

Leave me in quiet. I shall take no dinner.”
别打扰我，我不会吃饭。”

She locked herself in her room. She needed time to get used to her maimed consciousness, her poor lopped life, before she could walk steadily to the place allotted her. —-
她把自己锁在房间里。她需要时间去适应她残缺的意识，她那可怜的残缺的生活，在她走向被安排给她的地方之前，她需要能够稳稳地走路。 —-

A new searching light had fallen on her husband’s character, and she could not judge him leniently: —-
一道新的深入探索的光芒洒在她丈夫的性格上，她无法宽容地对待他： —-

the twenty years in which she had believed in him and venerated him by virtue of his concealments came back with particulars that made them seem an odious deceit. —-
在这二十年中，她对他的信任和尊敬都是基于他的隐瞒，那些细节回荡着，让这些信任和尊敬看起来仿佛是可憎的欺骗。 —-

He had married her with that bad past life hidden behind him, and she had no faith left to protest his innocence of the worst that was imputed to him. —-
他已经娶了她，隐藏在他身后的那个糟糕的过去，她已经没有信心再为他被指控的最糟糕的事情辩护他的清白。 —-

Her honest ostentatious nature made the sharing of a merited dishonor as bitter as it could be to any mortal.
她那诚实的炫耀性天性，使得与别人分享应得的耻辱变得如此痛苦，任何凡人都无法承受。

But this imperfectly taught woman, whose phrases and habits were an odd patchwork, had a loyal spirit within her. —-
这个受教育不完善的女人内心却有着忠诚的精神，她的措辞和习惯如花样怪异的拼缝。 —-

The man whose prosperity she had shared through nearly half a life, and who had unvaryingly cherished her—now that punishment had befallen him it was not possible to her in any sense to forsake him. —-
她与其分享差不多有半生的繁荣的那个男人，那个一直珍惜着她的男人，如今遭受了惩罚，她无法在任何意义上离开他。 —-

There is a forsaking which still sits at the same board and lies on the same couch with the forsaken soul, withering it the more by unloving proximity. —-
有一种离弃，虽然仍同处一室，同处一张床，却怀着无爱的距离而自已凋零的丧心。 —-

She knew, when she locked her door, that she should unlock it ready to go down to her unhappy husband and espouse his sorrow, and say of his guilt, I will mourn and not reproach. —-
她知道，当她锁上门时，她应该准备解锁，准备去下楼见她不幸的丈夫，为他的罪行哀悼，而不是谴责。 —-

But she needed time to gather up her strength; —-
但她需要时间来鼓起勇气； —-

she needed to sob out her farewell to all the gladness and pride of her life. —-
她需要向她生活中所有的喜悦和骄傲哭别。 —-

When she had resolved to go down, she prepared herself by some little acts which might seem mere folly to a hard onlooker; —-
当她决定下楼时，她通过一些小动作来准备自己，这对于一个坚强的旁观者来说可能看起来是纯粹的愚蠢； —-

they were her way of expressing to all spectators visible or invisible that she had begun a new life in which she embraced humiliation. —-
这是她表达给所有可见或不可见的旁观者的方式，她已经开始了一个新生活，在这个生活中她接受了屈辱。 —-

She took off all her ornaments and put on a plain black gown, and instead of wearing her much-adorned cap and large bows of hair, she brushed her hair down and put on a plain bonnet-cap, which made her look suddenly like an early Methodist.
她脱掉了所有的装饰品，换上一件朴素的黑色长袍，不再戴着装饰华丽的帽子和大蝴蝶结发饰，把头发梳下来戴上了简朴的帽子，瞬间让她看起来像一个早期的卫理公会信徒。

Bulstrode, who knew that his wife had been out and had come in saying that she was not well, had spent the time in an agitation equal to hers. —-
布尔斯特罗德知道他的妻子已经出去了，回来时说自己不舒服，他的激动与她持平。 —-

He had looked forward to her learning the truth from others, and had acquiesced in that probability, as something easier to him than any confession. —-
他期待她从他人那里了解真相，已经默许那种可能性，对他来说比任何坦白都容易。 —-

But now that he imagined the moment of her knowledge come, he awaited the result in anguish. —-
但现在他想象着她知晓真相的时刻已经到来，他在极度痛苦中等待结果。 —-

His daughters had been obliged to consent to leave him, and though he had allowed some food to be brought to him, he had not touched it. —-
他的女儿们已经不得不同意离开他，尽管他让人送来了一些食物，但他却没有动过。 —-

He felt himself perishing slowly in unpitied misery. —-
他感觉自己在无情的痛苦中慢慢消亡。 —-

Perhaps he should never see his wife’s face with affection in it again. —-
或许他永远也再不能看到妻子脸上带着慈爱的表情了。 —-

And if he turned to God there seemed to be no answer but the pressure of retribution.
如果他转向上帝，似乎唯一的回答就是来自报应的压力。

It was eight o’clock in the evening before the door opened and his wife entered. —-
晚上八点钟，门才打开，他的妻子走了进来。 —-

He dared not look up at her. He sat with his eyes bent down, and as she went towards him she thought he looked smaller— he seemed so withered and shrunken. —-
他不敢抬头看她。他眼睛低垂着，当她走向他时，他觉得他看起来更小了，他似乎干瘪而萎缩。 —-

A movement of new compassion and old tenderness went through her like a great wave, and putting one hand on his which rested on the arm of the chair, and the other on his shoulder, she said, solemnly but kindly—
一股新的怜悯和旧的温柔在她心中涌动，就像一波巨浪，她一只手放在他靠在椅子扶手上的手上，另一只手放在他肩膀上，威严但温和地说道—

“Look up, Nicholas.”
“抬头看我，尼古拉斯。”

He raised his eyes with a little start and looked at her half amazed for a moment: —-
他略微惊讶地抬起眼睛看着她，一时间无法言语—— —-

her pale face, her changed, mourning dress, the trembling about her mouth, all said, “I know;” —-
她苍白的脸庞，她改变了的丧服，她嘴角的颤抖，一切都在告诉他，“我知道；” —-

and her hands and eyes rested gently on him. —-
她的双手和目光温柔地停留在他身上。 —-

He burst out crying and they cried together, she sitting at his side. —-
他突然哭了起来，他们一起哭泣，她坐在他身边。 —-

They could not yet speak to each other of the shame which she was bearing with him, or of the acts which had brought it down on them. —-
他们还不能彼此提及那些已经给他们带来耻辱的行为。 —-

His confession was silent, and her promise of faithfulness was silent. —-
他的忏悔是无声的，她对于忠诚的承诺也是无声的。 —-

Open-minded as she was, she nevertheless shrank from the words which would have expressed their mutual consciousness, as she would have shrunk from flakes of fire. —-
虽然她胸怀坦荡，但她还是回避了会表达出彼此共同意识的言语，就像她会回避火星似的。 —-

She could not say, “How much is only slander and false suspicion?” —-
她无法说：“有多少只是诽谤和虚假的猜疑？” —-

and he did not say, “I am innocent.”
他没有说：“我是无辜的。”