Mamma was sitting in the drawing-room and making tea. In one hand she was holding the tea-pot, while with the other one she was drawing water from the urn and letting it drip into the tray. Yet though she appeared to be noticing what she doing, in reality she noted neither this fact nor our entry.
However vivid be one’s recollection of the past, any attempt to recall the features of a beloved being shows them to one’s vision as through a mist of tears--dim and blurred. Those tears are the tears of the imagination.
When I try to recall Mamma as she was then, I see, true, her brown eyes, expressive always of love and kindness, the small mole on her neck below where the small hairs grow, her white embroidered collar, and the delicate, fresh hand which so often caressed me, and which I so often kissed; but her general appearance escapes me altogether.
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沙发左边摆着一架古老的英国大钢琴,大钢琴前面坐着我那黑头发、黑皮肤的小姐姐柳博奇卡 ① ,她用刚在冷水里洗过的玫瑰色手指显然很紧张地在弹克莱曼蒂的练习曲 ② 。她十一岁了,穿着一件麻布短衣,一条雪白的、镶花边的衬裤,只能用arpeggio弹八度音 ③ 。
①柳博奇卡:柳博芙的小名。
②克莱曼蒂(1752-1832):意大利钢琴家和作曲家。
③arPeggio:意大利语“琶音”。和弦中的各个组成音不是同时而是顺序奏出。
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To the left of the sofa stood an English piano, at which my dark- haired sister Lubotshka was sitting and playing with manifest effort (for her hands were rosy from a recent washing in cold water) Clementi’s "Etudes." Then eleven years old, she was dressed in a short cotton frock and white lace-frilled trousers, and could take her octaves only in arpeggio.
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她旁边侧身坐着玛丽雅·伊凡诺芙娜。玛丽雅·伊凡诺芙娜戴着有红缎带的包发帽,身穿天蓝色的敞胸短上衣,脸色通红,怒气冲冲;卡尔·伊就内奇一进来,她更加板起脸来了。她威严地望一望他,也不答礼,用脚踏着拍子,继续数着:Un,deux,trois,un,deux,trois” ① ,声音比以前更响,更专横。
①“Un,deux,trois,un,deux,trois”:法语“一,二,三,一,二,三”
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5
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Beside her was sitting Maria Ivanovna, in a cap adorned with pink ribbons and a blue shawl, Her face was red and cross, and it assumed an expression even more severe when Karl Ivanitch entered the room. Looking angrily at him without answering his bow, she went on beating time with her foot and counting, " One, two, three--one, two, three," more loudly and commandingly than ever.
Karl Ivanitch paid no attention to this rudeness, but went, as usual, with German politeness to kiss Mamma’s hand, She drew herself up, shook her head as though by the movement to chase away sad thoughts from her, and gave Karl her hand, kissing him on his wrinkled temple as he bent his head in salutation.
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“Ich danke,lieber卡尔·伊凡内奇 ① !”她仍旧用德语问道:“孩子们睡得好吗?”
①Ich danke,lieber:德语“谢谢您,亲爱的”。
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"I thank you, dear Karl Ivanitch," she said in German, and then, still using the same language asked him how we (the children) had slept.
Karl Ivanitch was deaf in one ear, and the added noise of the piano now prevented him from hearing anything at all. He moved nearer to the sofa, and, leaning one hand upon the table and lifting his cap above his head, said with, a smile which in those days always seemed to me the perfection of politeness: "You, will excuse me, will you not, Natalia Nicolaevna?"
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9
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卡尔·伊凡内奇怕他的秃头着凉,从来不摘掉他那顶小红帽,但是每次走进客厅里来,他都请求人家许他这样。
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The reason for this was that, to avoid catching cold, Karl never took off his red cap, but invariably asked permission, on entering the drawing-room, to retain it on his head.
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“戴上吧,卡尔·伊凡内奇……我在问您,孩子们睡得好不好?’”妈妈向他稍微靠近一些说,声音相当响亮。
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"Yes, pray replace it, Karl Ivanitch," said Mamma, bending towards him and raising her voice, "But I asked you whether the children had slept well? "
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但是他还是什么也没有听见,用小红帽盖上秃头,笑得更和蔼了。
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11
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Still he did not hear, but, covering his bald head again with the red cap, went on smiling more than ever,
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“你停一下,米米 ① !”妈妈笑着对玛丽雅·伊就诺芙娜说,“什么都听不见了。”
①米米:玛丽雅的小名。
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"Stop a moment, Mimi." said Mamma (now smiling also) to Maria Ivanovna. "It is impossible to hear anything."
How beautiful Mamma’s face was when she smiled! It made her so infinitely more charming, and everything around her seemed to grow brighter! If in the more painful moments of my life I could have seen that smile before my eyes, I should never have known what grief is.
In my opinion, it is in the smile of a face that the essence of what we call beauty lies. If the smile heightens the charm of the face, then the face is a beautiful one. If the smile does not alter the face, then the face is an ordinary one. But if the smile spoils the face, then the face is an ugly one indeed.
Karl Ivanitch confirmed my words, but said nothing as to the subject of the dream. Then, after a little conversation on the weather, in which Mimi also took part, Mamma laid some lumps of sugar on the tray for one or two of the more privileged servants, and crossed over to her embroidery frame, which stood near one of the windows.
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21
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“喂,孩子们,现在到爸爸那里去吧,你们告诉他,他去打谷场以前,一定要到我这里来一趟。”
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21
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"Go to Papa now, children," she said, "and ask him to come to me before he goes to the home farm."
Then the music, the counting, and the wrathful looks from Mimi began again, and we went off to see Papa. Passing through the room which had been known ever since Grandpapa’s time as "the pantry," we entered the study,