During the summer I met Mrs. Strickland not infrequently. —
在夏天，我经常见到斯特里克兰太太。 —

I went now and then to pleasant little luncheons at her flat, and to rather more formidable tea-parties. —
我偶尔去她的公寓参加愉快的小午餐，以及更正式的茶话会。 —

We took a fancy to one another. I was very young, and perhaps she liked the idea of guiding my virgin steps on the hard road of letters; —
我们彼此很投缘。我当时还很年轻，也许她喜欢引导我这条踽踽前行的文学之路； —

while for me it was pleasant to have someone I could go to with my small troubles, certain of an attentive ear and reasonable counsel. —
对我来说，有一个可以分享小困扰，并能得到体贴耳语和明智建议的人，是一件愉快的事。 —

Mrs. Strickland had the gift of sympathy. —
斯特里克兰太太具有同情心。 —

It is a charming faculty, but one often abused by those who are conscious of its possession: —
这是一种迷人的本领，但经常被那些意识到自己拥有这种能力的人所滥用： —

for there is something ghoulish in the avidity with which they will pounce upon the misfortune of their friends so that they may exercise their dexterity. —
因为他们会如饿狼般热切地扑向朋友们的不幸，以便展示自己的巧妙手段。 —

It gushes forth like an oil-well, and the sympathetic pour out their sympathy with an abandon that is sometimes embarrassing to their victims. —
同情心汩汩涌出，同情者会毫不保留地将同情倾泻出来，有时这令受害者感到尴尬。 —

There are bosoms on which so many tears have been shed that I cannot bedew them with mine. —
有些人的怀中已经洒过了太多眼泪，我不忍再增加了。 —

Mrs. Strickland used her advantage with tact. —
斯特里克兰太太以大智慧行使她的优势。 —

You felt that you obliged her by accepting her sympathy. —
你感到你接受了她的同情是在帮了她一个忙。 —

When, in the enthusiasm of my youth, I remarked on this to Rose Waterford, she said:
在我的年轻热情时，我曾向罗斯·沃特福德提及这一点，她说：

“Milk is very nice, especially with a drop of brandy in it, but the domestic cow is only too glad to be rid of it. —
“牛奶很好，尤其是加一滴白兰地，但家养奶牛总是乐于摆脱牛奶。 —

A swollen udder is very uncomfortable. “
肿胀的乳房非常不舒服。”

Rose Waterford had a blistering tongue. No one could say such bitter things; —
罗斯·沃特福德的舌头是刺骨的。没有人能说出如此刻薄的话。 —

on the other hand, no one could do more charming ones.
另一方面，没有人能做更迷人的。

There was another thing I liked in Mrs. Strickland. She managed her surroundings with elegance. —
在史特里克兰夫人身上，我还喜欢另一件事。她用优雅来管理她的周围环境。 —

Her flat was always neat and cheerful, gay with flowers, and the chintzes in the drawing-room, notwithstanding their severe design, were bright and pretty. —
她的公寓总是整洁而愉快，鲜花盛开，客厅的印花布尽管设计严谨，但色彩明亮漂亮。 —

The meals in the artistic little dining-room were pleasant; —
在那个艺术感十足的小餐厅里用餐是愉快的； —

the table looked nice, the two maids were trim and comely; the food was well cooked. —
餐桌看起来漂亮，两个女仆也整洁漂亮；食物烹饪得很好。 —

It was impossible not to see that Mrs. Strickland was an excellent housekeeper. —
不难看出史特里克兰夫人是一个优秀的家庭主妇。 —

And you felt sure that she was an admirable mother. —
你肯定她是一位出色的母亲。 —

There were photographs in the drawing-room of her son and daughter. —
客厅里有她儿子和女儿的照片。 —

The son – his name was Robert – was a boy of sixteen at Rugby; —
她的儿子——名叫罗伯特——在鲁格比赛学校读书，已经十六岁； —

and you saw him in flannels and a cricket cap, and again in a tail-coat and a stand-up collar. —
你可以看到他穿着弹力布外套和板球帽，再次穿着半正式服装和立领。 —

He had his mother’s candid brow and fine, reflective eyes. —
他有他母亲坦诚的额头和精明的眼睛。 —

He looked clean, healthy, and normal.
他看起来干净、健康和正常。

“I don’t know that he’s very clever, ” she said one day, when I was looking at the photograph, “but I know he’s good. —
“我不知道他是否很聪明，”有一天我看着这张照片时，她说，“但我知道他很善良。 —

He has a charming character. “
他有迷人的性格。”

The daughter was fourteen. Her hair, thick and dark like her mother’s, fell over her shoulders in fine profusion, and she had the same kindly expression and sedate, untroubled eyes.
女儿十四岁。她浓密黑色的头发和母亲一样，披散在肩上，她有着同样亲切的表情和镇静无忧的眼睛。

“They’re both of them the image of you, ” I said.
“他们两个都是你的影子，”我说。

“Yes; I think they are more like me than their father. “
“是的；我觉得他们更像我，而不是他们的父亲。”

“Why have you never let me meet him?” I asked.
“为什么你从来没有让我见他呢？”我问道。

“Would you like to?”
“你想见他吗？”

She smiled, her smile was really very sweet, and she blushed a little; —
她微笑了，她的微笑真的非常甜美，她有点脸红； —

it was singular that a woman of that age should flush so readily. —
一个那个年龄的女人如此容易脸红，这是很奇怪的。 —

Perhaps her naivete was her greatest charm.
也许她的天真是她最大的魅力。

“You know, he’s not at all literary, ” she said. “He’s a perfect philistine. “
“你知道，他一点也不文学，”她说。”他是一个彻头彻尾的庸人。”

She said this not disparagingly, but affectionately rather, as though, by acknowledging the worst about him, she wished to protect him from the aspersions of her friends.
她这样说并非贬低，而更像是深情地表达，仿佛是想通过承认他的缺点来保护他不受她朋友的诽谤。

“He’s on the Stock Exchange, and he’s a typical broker. I think he’d bore you to death. “
“他在股票交易所工作，他是一个典型的经纪人。我觉得他会让你无聊死。”

“Does he bore you?” I asked.
“他让你觉得无聊吗？”我问。

“You see, I happen to be his wife. I’m very fond of him. “
“你知道，我碰巧是他的妻子。我非常喜欢他。”

She smiled to cover her shyness, and I fancied she had a fear that I would make the sort of gibe that such a confession could hardly have failed to elicit from Rose Waterford. —
她微笑以掩饰她的害羞，我想她可能担心我会说出那种使人难堪的讽刺，这种坦白几乎不会不引起Rose Waterford的讥讽。 —

She hesitated a little. Her eyes grew tender.
她犹豫了一下。她的眼神变得温柔起来。

“He doesn’t pretend to be a genius. He doesn’t even make much money on the Stock Exchange. —
“他并不自称是个天才。他甚至在股票交易所也没有赚到很多钱。” —

But he’s awfully good and kind. “
“但他非常善良。”

“I think I should like him very much. “
“我觉得我会非常喜欢他的。”

“I’ll ask you to dine with us quietly some time, but mind, you come at your own risk; —
“我会请你安静地与我们共进晚餐，但请注意，你要自担风险； —

don’t blame me if you have a very dull evening. “
如果你度过了一个非常乏味的晚上，请不要怪我。”