“You have read it?” said Armand, when I had finished the manuscript.
“你读过了吗？”阿尔芒德说，当我读完手稿时。

“I understand what you must have suffered, my friend, if all that I read is true.”
“我的朋友，如果我所读的都是真的，我能理解你曾经经历了多大的痛苦。”

“My father confirmed it in a letter.”
“我父亲在一封信中证实了这一切。”

We talked for some time over the sad destiny which had been accomplished, and I went home to rest a little.
我们谈了很长时间关于已经发生的悲惨命运，然后我回家休息一会儿。

Armand, still sad, but a little relieved by the narration of his story, soon recovered, and we went together to pay a visit to Prudence and to Julie Duprat.
阿尔芒德仍然悲伤，但听完他的故事后感到稍微安慰，我们一起去拜访普鲁登斯和朱丽·杜普拉。

Prudence had become bankrupt. She told us that Marguerite was the cause of it; —
普鲁登斯破产了。她告诉我们，玛格丽特是造成这一切的原因； —

that during her illness she had lent her a lot of money in the form of promissory notes, which she could not pay, Marguerite having died without having returned her the money, and without having given her a receipt with which she could present herself as a creditor.
在她生病期间，她以期票的形式借给了玛格丽特很多钱，她无法偿还，而玛格丽特在去世之前没有归还钱给她，也没有给她一张可以作为债权人出示的收据。

By the help of this fable, which Mme. Duvernoy repeated everywhere in order to account for her money difficulties, she extracted a note for a thousand francs from Armand, who did not believe it, but who pretended to, out of respect for all those in whose company Marguerite had lived.
在Mme. Duvernoy到处重复这个寓言故事的帮助下，她从阿尔芒那里取得了一张一千法郎的票据。阿尔芒并不相信这个故事，但出于对与玛格丽特有关的众人的尊重，他假装相信了。

Then we called on Julie Duprat, who told us the sad incident which she had witnessed, shedding real tears at the remembrance of her friend.
然后，我们去找茱莉·杜普拉，她告诉我们她目睹的这个悲伤的事件，她在回忆起她的朋友时流下了真正的泪水。

Lastly, we went to Marguerite’s grave, on which the first rays of the April sun were bringing the first leaves into bud.
最后，我们去了玛格丽特的坟墓，四月太阳的第一缕光线使第一片叶子开始发芽。

One duty remained to Armand—to return to his father. He wished me to accompany him.
阿尔芒还有一个责任要履行——回到他父亲那里。他希望我陪伴他一起去。

We arrived at C., where I saw M. Duval, such as I had imagined him from the portrait his son had made of him, tall, dignified, kindly.
我们到达了C.，我看到了杜瓦尔先生，他和我通过他儿子的描述所想象的一样，高大、庄重、友善。

He welcomed Armand with tears of joy, and clasped my hand affectionately. —
他高兴地拥抱着阿尔芒，亲切地握着我的手。 —

I was not long in seeing that the paternal sentiment was that which dominated all others in his mind.
我很快就发现，父爱是他思想中最主导的情感。

His daughter, named Blanche, had that transparence of eyes, that serenity of the mouth, which indicates a soul that conceives only holy thoughts and lips that repeat only pious words. —
他的女儿布兰奇，眼睛透明，嘴巴平静，显示出她只怀有圣洁的思想和嘴唇只重复虔诚的话语。 —

She welcomed her brother’s return with smiles, not knowing, in the purity of her youth, that far away a courtesan had sacrificed her own happiness at the mere invocation of her name.
她以微笑欢迎她哥哥的归来，在她纯洁的年轻时期，她不知道在远方一个妓女为她的名字而牺牲了自己的幸福。

I remained for some time in their happy family, full of indulgent care for one who brought them the convalescence of his heart.
我在他们幸福的家庭里住了一段时间，他们对我充满宽容的关怀使我心灵恢复了健康。

I returned to Paris, where I wrote this story just as it had been told me. —
我回到了巴黎，在那里我写下了这个故事，就像它被告知给我的那样。 —

It has only one merit, which will perhaps be denied it; —
它只有一个优点，也许会被否认； —

that is, that it is true.
那就是它是真实的。

I do not draw from this story the conclusion that all women like Marguerite are capable of doing all that she did—far from it; —
从这个故事中，我并不得出结论说所有像玛格丽特一样的女人都能做出她所做的一切——远非如此； —

but I have discovered that one of them experienced a serious love in the course of her life, that she suffered for it, and that she died of it. —
但我发现其中一个女人在她的生命中经历了一场严肃的爱情，她为此受苦，并因此而死去。 —

I have told the reader all that I learned. It was my duty.
我已经告诉读者我所了解的一切。这是我的职责。

I am not the apostle of vice, but I would gladly be the echo of noble sorrow wherever I bear its voice in prayer.
我并非邪恶的使徒，但我愿意在祈祷中成为高尚悲伤的回响，无论何地，我都将传扬其声音。

The story of Marguerite is an exception, I repeat; —
玛格丽特的故事是个例，我再次重申； —

had it not been an exception, it would not have been worth the trouble of writing it.
如果不是个例的话，就没有必要费心写出来了。