狄更斯雙語小說:《董貝父子》第31章Part 1

Dawn with its passionless blank face, steals shivering to the church beneath which lies the dust of little Paul and his mother, and looks in at the windows. It is cold and dark. Night crouches yet, upon the pavement, and broods, sombre and heavy, in nooks and corners of the building. The steeple-clock, perched up above the houses, emerging from beneath another of the countless ripples in the tide of time that regularly roll and break on the eternal shore, is greyly visible, like a stone beacon, recording how the sea flows on; but within doors, dawn, at first, can only peep at night, and see that it is there.
Hovering feebly round the church, and looking in, dawn moans and weeps for its short reign, and its tears trickle on the window-glass, and the trees against the church-wall bow their heads, and wring their many hands in sympathy. Night, growing pale before it, gradually fades out of the church, but lingers in the vaults below, and sits upon the coffins. And now comes bright day, burnishing the steeple-clock, and reddening the spire, and drying up the tears of dawn, and stifling its complaining; and the dawn, following the night, and chasing it from its last refuge, shrinks into the vaults itself and hides, with a frightened face, among the dead, until night returns, refreshed, to drive it out.
And now, the mice, who have been busier with the prayer-books than their proper owners, and with the hassocks, more worn by their little teeth than by human knees, hide their bright eyes in their holes, and gather close together in affright at the resounding clashing of the church-door. For the beadle, that man of power, comes early this morning with the sexton; and Mrs Miff, the wheezy little pew-opener - a mighty dry old lady, sparely dressed, with not an inch of fulness anywhere about her - is also here, and has been waiting at the church-gate half-an-hour, as her place is, for the beadle.
A vinegary face has Mrs Miff, and a mortified bonnet, and eke a thirsty soul for sixpences and shillings. Beckoning to stray people to come into pews, has given Mrs Miff an air of mystery; and there is reservation in the eye of Mrs Miff, as always knowing of a softer seat, but having her suspicions of the fee. There is no such fact as Mr Miff, nor has there been, these twenty years, and Mrs Miff would rather not allude to him. He held some bad opinions, it would seem, about free seats; and though Mrs Miff hopes he may be gone upwards, she couldn't positively undertake to say so.
Busy is Mrs Miff this morning at the church-door, beating and dusting the altar-cloth, the carpet, and the cushions; and much has Mrs Miff to say, about the wedding they are going to have. Mrs Miff is told, that the new furniture and alterations in the house cost full five thousand pound if they cost a penny; and Mrs Miff has heard, upon the best authority, that the lady hasn't got a sixpence wherewithal to bless herself. Mrs Miff remembers, like wise, as if it had happened yesterday, the first wife's funeral, and then the christening, and then the other funeral; and Mrs Miff says, by-the-bye she'll soap-and-water that 'ere tablet presently, against the company arrive. Mr Sownds the Beadle, who is sitting in the sun upon the church steps all this time (and seldom does anything else, except, in cold weather, sitting by the fire), approves of Mrs Miff's discourse, and asks if Mrs Miff has heard it said, that the lady is uncommon handsome? The information Mrs Miff has received, being of this nature, Mr Sownds the Beadle, who, though orthodox and corpulent, is still an admirer of female beauty, observes, with unction, yes, he hears she is a spanker - an expression that seems somewhat forcible to Mrs Miff, or would, from any lips but those of Mr Sownds the Beadle.
In Mr Dombey's house, at this same time, there is great stir and bustle, more especially among the women: not one of whom has had a wink of sleep since four o'clock, and all of whom were fully dressed before six. Mr Towlinson is an object of greater consideration than usual to the housemaid, and the cook says at breakfast time that one wedding makes many, which the housemaid can't believe, and don't think true at all. Mr Towlinson reserves his sentiments on this question; being rendered something gloomy by the engagement of a foreigner with whiskers (Mr Towlinson is whiskerless himself), who has been hired to accompany the happy pair to Paris, and who is busy packing the new chariot. In respect of this personage, Mr Towlinson admits, presently, that he never knew of any good that ever come of foreigners; and being charged by the ladies with prejudice, says, look at Bonaparte who was at the head of 'em, and see what he was always up to! Which the housemaid says is very true.

黎明露出沒有熱情、茫然發呆的臉孔，哆哆嗦嗦地，悄悄地來到教堂；從窗口往裏面張望，小保羅和他母親的骨灰就躺在這個教堂的下面。這時是寒冷與黑暗的。夜還依舊蹲伏在鋪石路上，陰鬱與深沉地暗藏在這座建築物的各個角落和隱僻的地方。時間的潮流不規律地衝刷和拍打着永恆之岸；巍然高聳在房屋上空的教堂尖塔上的鐘，從這無數波浪的又一個波浪中浮現出來，露出它灰暗的形象；它像一個石頭的燈塔，記錄着海水怎樣流動；可是在教堂裏面，黎明最初只能窺探一下而已，它看見夜依舊在那裏。
黎明在教堂周圍軟弱無力地徘徊着，向窗子裏張望着，爲它短促的統治呻吟和哀哭着，它的眼淚在窗玻璃上流淌；教堂圍牆近旁的樹木低垂着頭，它們的許多手緊緊地相互絞扭着，表示同情。夜在黎明面前臉色蒼白，漸漸地離開了教堂，但卻依依不捨地留在安放骨灰的地下靈堂中，並坐在棺材上面。現在，明亮的白天來到了，它把教堂尖塔上的鐘擦亮，給塔尖染紅，並抹乾黎明的眼淚，壓住它的怨言。心驚膽戰的黎明跟隨在夜的後面，把它從它最後的藏身場所趕跑，它自己則退縮到地下靈堂當中，躲藏在死人中間，直到夜恢復精神，重新回來時把它攆走爲止。
耗子們本來正在對祈禱書下着功夫，它們那孜孜不倦的精神超過了書的合法主人；它們細小的牙齒對跪墊所造成的磨損也大大超出了人們膝蓋所能達到的程度；這時它們聽到教堂大門打開時發出的鏗鏘響聲的迴盪，就都把亮晶晶的眼睛隱藏在洞裏，恐懼不安地聚集在一起。因爲這天早上，教區事務員這位掌握權力的人物和教堂司事一起很早就來了。米福太太這位矮小的教堂領座人也在這裏，她呼哧呼哧地一直喘着氣；她是一位非常枯瘦的老太太，穿着可憐，全身上下找不到一英寸豐滿的地方；她在教堂門口等候教區事務員已等了半個鐘頭；就她的職位來說，是應當這樣做的。
米福太太有一副愁眉苦臉，一頂乾癟的女帽，另外還有一顆渴望得到六便士硬幣和一先令硬幣的心。她喜愛招呼偶爾從這裏走過的人們到教堂裏去入座聽講，這賦予她一種神祕的神態；在她的眼光中流露出不露真情的神色，好像她知道哪個座位更柔軟舒適，但她懷疑指點出來是否能得到小費。沒有米福先生這樣的人，這二十年來從來沒有過他，米福太太也寧肯不提到他。他似乎對免費入座很不以爲然；雖然米福太太希望他升入天堂，然而她卻不能肯定地答應說這樣的話。
這天早上米福太太在教堂門口十分忙碌，她敲打着聖壇罩、地毯和墊子，拂去它們的灰塵；米福太太對即將舉行的婚禮也有許多話要講。米福太太聽別人說，那座公館購置新傢俱和修繕裝飾的費用無論如何也不少於五千英鎊；米福太太還從可靠人士那裏打聽到，這位夫人連六個便士也沒有花。米福太太還清清楚楚地記得第一個妻子的葬禮，然後是洗禮，然後是另一次葬禮，彷彿這些事情是昨天發生的一樣；米福太太說，她得在客人們來到之前，立即用肥皂水順便把這些墓碑擦洗乾淨。教區事務員桑茲先生一直坐在教堂臺階上曬太陽（除了天氣寒冷的時候坐在爐旁取暖外，他很少做別的事）；他稱讚米福太太的談話，並問米福太太有沒有聽說，這位夫人長得非常非常漂亮？教區事務員桑茲先生雖然信奉正教教義，本人長得肥頭胖耳，但他卻仍然是一位女性美色的愛慕者；由於米福太太也聽到這個消息，他就津津有味地說，是的，他聽說她是個頂呱呱的女人，--這個說法如果不是從教區事務員桑茲先生的嘴中，而是從別人的嘴中說出的話，那麼對米福太太來說，它似乎有幾分不堪入耳。
董貝先生家裏這時候忙亂得不可開交，特別是婦女們，從四點鐘起，她們沒有一個人閤眼睡過一下子；六點鐘以前，她們全都穿着得漂漂亮亮。託林森先生比平時更受女僕的青睞；吃早飯的時候，廚娘說，在一次婚禮之後就會接着舉行很多個婚禮；女僕不相信這個說法，認爲這根本不正確；託林森先生在這個問題上沒有發表意見，因爲一位留連鬢鬍子的外國人（託林森先生本人沒有連鬢鬍子）被僱來陪伴幸福的新婚夫婦去巴黎，他的來到使託林森先生感到有些悶悶不樂。這位外國人正忙着給嶄新的四輪輕便馬車裝上東西。對於這個人，託林森先生立即發表他的看法，他說，他從來沒有見到從外國人身上能得到什麼好處；由於受到有偏見的婦女們的責備，他就說，”你們看波拿巴吧，他就是他們的統帥，你們看他經常搞些什麼名堂！”女僕認爲他這話說得千真萬確。