COMPRISING FURTHER PARTICULARS OF OLIVER’S STAY AT MR. BROWNLOW’S, WITH THE REMARKABLE PREDICTION WHICH ONE MR. GRIMWIG UTTERED CONCERNING HIM, WHEN HE WENT OUT ON AN ERRAND
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“啊。”女管家留心到了奥立弗眼睛看的方向,说道,“你瞧,没了。”
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Oliver soon recovering from the fainting-fit into which Mr. Brownlow’s abrupt exclamation had thrown him, the subject of the picture was carefully avoided, both by the old gentleman and Mrs. Bedwin, in the conversation that ensued: which indeed bore no reference to Oliver’s history or prospects, but was confined to such topics as might amuse without exciting him. He was still too weak to get up to breakfast; but, when he came down into the housekeeper’s room next day, his first act was to cast an eager glance at the wall, in the hope of again looking on the face of the beautiful lady. His expectations were disappointed, however, for the picture had been removed.
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“我也发现不见了,太太,”奥立弗回答,“他们干吗要把画拿走呢?”
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’Ah!’ said the housekeeper, watching the direction of Oliver’s eyes. ’It is gone, you see.’
’I see it is ma’am,’ replied Oliver. ’Why have they taken it away?’
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“喔,不,真的,一点也碍不着我,太太,”奥立弗说道,“我喜欢看,我可喜欢呢。”
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’It has been taken down, child, because Mr. Brownlow said, that as it seemed to worry you, perhaps it might prevent your getting well, you know,’ rejoined the old lady.
’Well, well!’ said the old lady, good-humouredly; ’you get well as fast as ever you can, dear, and it shall be hung up again. There! I promise you that! Now, let us talk about something else.’
This was all the information Oliver could obtain about the picture at that time. As the old lady had been so kind to him in his illness, he endeavoured to think no more of the subject just then; so he listened attentively to a great many stories she told him, about an amiable and handsome daughter of hers, who was married to an amiable and handsome man, and lived in the country; and about a son, who was clerk to a merchant in the West Indies; and who was, also, such a good young man, and wrote such dutiful letters home four times a-year, that it brought the tears into her eyes to talk about them. When the old lady had expatiated, a long time, on the excellences of her children, and the merits of her kind good husband besides, who had been dead and gone, poor dear soul! just six-and-twenty years, it was time to have tea. After tea she began to teach Oliver cribbage: which he learnt as quickly as she could teach: and at which game they played, with great interest and gravity, until it was time for the invalid to have some warm wine and water, with a slice of dry toast, and then to go cosily to bed.
They were happy days, those of Oliver’s recovery. Everything was so quiet, and neat, and orderly; everybody so kind and gentle; that after the noise and turbulence in the midst of which he had always lived, it seemed like Heaven itself. He was no sooner strong enough to put his clothes on, properly, than Mr. Brownlow caused a complete new suit, and a new cap, and a new pair of shoes, to be provided for him. As Oliver was told that he might do what he liked with the old clothes, he gave them to a servant who had been very kind to him, and asked her to sell them to a Jew, and keep the money for herself. This she very readily did; and, as Oliver looked out of the parlour window, and saw the Jew roll them up in his bag and walk away, he felt quite delighted to think that they were safely gone, and that there was now no possible danger of his ever being able to wear them again. They were sad rags, to tell the truth; and Oliver had never had a new suit before.
One evening, about a week after the affair of the picture, as he was sitting talking to Mrs. Bedwin, there came a message down from Mr. Brownlow, that if Oliver Twist felt pretty well, he should like to see him in his study, and talk to him a little while.
’Bless us, and save us! Wash your hands, and let me part your hair nicely for you, child,’ said Mrs. Bedwin. ’Dear heart alive! If we had known he would have asked for you, we would have put you a clean collar on, and made you as smart as sixpence!’
Oliver did as the old lady bade him; and, although she lamented grievously, meanwhile, that there was not even time to crimp the little frill that bordered his shirt-collar; he looked so delicate and handsome, despite that important personal advantage, that she went so far as to say: looking at him with great complacency from head to foot, that she really didn’t think it would have been possible, on the longest notice, to have made much difference in him for the better.
Thus encouraged, Oliver tapped at the study door. On Mr. Brownlow calling to him to come in, he found himself in a little back room, quite full of books, with a window, looking into some pleasant little gardens. There was a table drawn up before the window, at which Mr. Brownlow was seated reading. When he saw Oliver, he pushed the book away from him, and told him to come near the table, and sit down. Oliver complied; marvelling where the people could be found to read such a great number of books as seemed to be written to make the world wiser. Which is still a marvel to more experienced people than Oliver Twist, every day of their lives.
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“好多书啊,先生,”奥立弗答道,“我从来没见过这么多书。”
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’There are a good many books, are there not, my boy?’ said Mr. Brownlow, observing the curiosity with which Oliver surveyed the shelves that reached from the floor to the ceiling.
’A great number, sir,’ replied Oliver. ’I never saw so many.’
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“先生,我猜准是那些厚的。”奥立弗说着,指了指几本封面烫金的四开本大书。
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’You shall read them, if you behave well,’ said the old gentleman kindly; ’and you will like that, better than looking at the outsides,--that is, some cases; because there are books of which the backs and covers are by far the best parts.’
’I suppose they are those heavy ones, sir,’ said Oliver, pointing to some large quartos, with a good deal of gilding about the binding.
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“我恐怕更愿意读书,先生。”奥立弗回答。
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’Not always those,’ said the old gentleman, patting Oliver on the head, and smiling as he did so; ’there are other equally heavy ones, though of a much smaller size. How should you like to grow up a clever man, and write books, eh?’
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“什么!你不想当一个写书的人?”老先生说。
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’I think I would rather read them, sir,’ replied Oliver.
Oliver considered a little while; and at last said, he should think it would be a much better thing to be a book-seller; upon which the old gentleman laughed heartily, and declared he had said a very good thing. Which Oliver felt glad to have done, though he by no means knew what it was.
’Well, well,’ said the old gentleman, composing his features. ’Don’t be afraid! We won’t make an author of you, while there’s an honest trade to be learnt, or brick-making to turn to.’
’Thank you, sir,’ said Oliver. At the earnest manner of his reply, the old gentleman laughed again; and said something about a curious instinct, which Oliver, not understanding, paid no very great attention to.
’Now,’ said Mr. Brownlow, speaking if possible in a kinder, but at the same time in a much more serious manner, than Oliver had ever known him assume yet, ’I want you to pay great attention, my boy, to what I am going to say. I shall talk to you without any reserve; because I am sure you are well able to understand me, as many older persons would be.’
’Oh, don’t tell you are going to send me away, sir, pray!’ exclaimed Oliver, alarmed at the serious tone of the old gentleman’s commencement! ’Don’t turn me out of doors to wander in the streets again. Let me stay here, and be a servant. Don’t send me back to the wretched place I came from. Have mercy upon a poor boy, sir!’
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“我不会的,决不会的,先生。”奥立弗抢着说。
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’My dear child,’ said the old gentleman, moved by the warmth of Oliver’s sudden appeal; ’you need not be afraid of my deserting you, unless you give me cause.’
’I hope not,’ rejoined the old gentleman. ’I do not think you ever will. I have been deceived, before, in the objects whom I have endeavoured to benefit; but I feel strongly disposed to trust you, nevertheless; and I am more interested in your behalf than I can well account for, even to myself. The persons on whom I have bestowed my dearest love, lie deep in their graves; but, although the happiness and delight of my life lie buried there too, I have not made a coffin of my heart, and sealed it up, forever, on my best affections. Deep affliction has but strengthened and refined them.’
As the old gentleman said this in a low voice: more to himself than to his companion: and as he remained silent for a short time afterwards: Oliver sat quite still.
’Well, well!’ said the old gentleman at length, in a more cheerful tone, ’I only say this, because you have a young heart; and knowing that I have suffered great pain and sorrow, you will be more careful, perhaps, not to wound me again. You say you are an orphan, without a friend in the world; all the inquiries I have been able to make, confirm the statement. Let me hear your story; where you come from; who brought you up; and how you got into the company in which I found you. Speak the truth, and you shall not be friendless while I live.’
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“他上楼来了?”布朗罗先生问道。
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Oliver’s sobs checked his utterance for some minutes; when he was on the point of beginning to relate how he had been brought up at the farm, and carried to the workhouse by Mr. Bumble, a peculiarly impatient little double-knock was heard at the street-door: and the servant, running upstairs, announced Mr. Grimwig.
’Yes, sir,’ replied the servant. ’He asked if there were any muffins in the house; and, when I told him yes, he said he had come to tea.’
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“要不要我下楼去,先生?”奥立弗问。
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Mr. Brownlow smiled; and, turning to Oliver, said that Mr. Grimwig was an old friend of his, and he must not mind his being a little rough in his manners; for he was a worthy creature at bottom, as he had reason to know.
At this moment, there walked into the room: supporting himself by a thick stick: a stout old gentleman, rather lame in one leg, who was dressed in a blue coat, striped waistcoat, nankeenbreeches and gaiters, and a broad-brimmed white hat, with the sides turned up with green. A very small-plaited shirt frill stuck out from his waistcoat; and a very long steel watch-chain, with nothing but a key at the end, dangled loosely below it. The ends of his white neckerchief were twisted into a ball about the size of an orange; the variety of shapes into which his countenance was twisted, defy description. He had a manner of screwing his head on one side when he spoke; and of looking out of the corners of his eyes at the same time: which irresistibly reminded the beholder of a parrot. In this attitude, he fixed himself, the moment he made his appearance; and, holding out a small piece of orange-peel at arm’s length, exclaimed, in a growling, discontented voice.
’Look here! do you see this! Isn’t it a most wonderful and extraordinary thing that I can’t call at a man’s house but I find a piece of this poor surgeon’s friend on the staircase? I’ve been lamed with orange-peel once, and I know orange-peel will be my death, or I’ll be content to eat my own head, sir!’
This was the handsome offer with which Mr. Grimwig backed and confirmed nearly every assertion he made; and it was the more singular in his case, because, even admitting for the sake of argument, the possibility of scientific improvements being brought to that pass which will enable a gentleman to eat his own head in the event of his being so disposed, Mr. Grimwig’s head was such a particularly large one, that the most sanguine man alive could hardly entertain a hope of being able to get through it at a sitting--to put entirely out of the question, a very thick coating of powder.
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“这就是小奥立弗退斯特,我们前次谈到的就是他。”布朗罗先生说。
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’I’ll eat my head, sir,’ repeated Mr. Grimwig, striking his stick upon the ground. ’Hallo! what’s that!’ looking at Oliver, and retreating a pace or two.
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奥立弗鞠了一躬。
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’This is young Oliver Twist, whom we were speaking about,’ said Mr. Brownlow.
’You don’t mean to say that’s the boy who had the fever, I hope?’ said Mr. Grimwig, recoiling a little more. ’Wait a minute! Don’t speak! Stop--’ continued Mr. Grimwig, abruptly, losing all dread of the fever in his triumph at the discovery; ’that’s the boy who had the orange! If that’s not the boy, sir, who had the orange, and threw this bit of peel upon the staircase, I’ll eat my head, and his too.’
’No, no, he has not had one,’ said Mr. Brownlow, laughing. ’Come! Put down your hat; and speak to my young friend.’
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①当时医生诊所门前设红灯为标记。
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’I feel strongly on this subject, sir,’ said the irritable old gentleman, drawing off his gloves. ’There’s always more or less orange-peel on the pavement in our street; and I _know_ it’s put there by the surgeon’s boy at the corner. A young woman stumbled over a bit last night, and fell against my garden-railings; directly she got up I saw her look towards his infernal red lamp with the pantomime-light. "Don’t go to him," I called out of the window, "he’s an assassin! A man-trap!" So he is. If he is not--’ Here the irascible old gentleman gave a great knock on the ground with his stick; which was always understood, by his friends, to imply the customary offer, whenever it was not expressed in words. Then, still keeping his stick in his hand, he sat down; and, opening a double eye-glass, which he wore attached to a broad black riband, took a view of Oliver: who, seeing that he was the object of inspection, coloured, and bowed again.
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“他就是那个孩子。是吗?”格林维格先生终于问道。
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’That’s the boy, is it?’ said Mr. Grimwig, at length.
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“是那个孩子。”布朗罗先生回答。
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’That’s the boy,’ replied Mr. Brownlow.
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“孩子,你好吗?”格林维格先生说。
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’How are you, boy?’ said Mr. Grimwig.
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“好多了,先生,谢谢你。”奥立弗答道。
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’A great deal better, thank you, sir,’ replied Oliver.
Mr. Brownlow, seeming to apprehend that his singular friend was about to say something disagreeable, asked Oliver to step downstairs and tell Mrs. Bedwin they were ready for tea; which, as he did not half like the visitor’s manner, he was very happy to do.
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“这孩子很漂亮,是不是?”布朗罗先生问道。
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’He is a nice-looking boy, is he not?’ inquired Mr. Brownlow.
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“我不知道。”格林维格先生没好气地说。
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’I don’t know,’ replied Mr. Grimwig, pettishly.
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“不知道?”
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’Don’t know?’
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“是啊,我不知道。我从来看不出小毛孩子有什么两样的。我只知道有两类孩子。一类是粉脸,一类是肉脸。”
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’No. I don’t know. I never see any difference in boys. I only knew two sort of boys. Mealy boys, and beef-faced boys.’
’Mealy. I know a friend who has a beef-faced boy; a fine boy, they call him; with a round head, and red cheeks, and glaring eyes; a horrid boy; with a body and limbs that appear to be swelling out of the seams of his blue clothes; with the voice of a pilot, and the appetite of a wolf. I know him! The wretch!’
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“行了,”布朗罗先生说,“小奥立弗退斯特可不像那样,不至于激起你的火气来啊。”
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’Come,’ said Mr. Brownlow, ’these are not the characteristics of young Oliver Twist; so he needn’t excite your wrath.’
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“是不像那个样子,”格林维格先生回答,“没准还要坏。”
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’They are not,’ replied Mr. Grimwig. ’He may have worse.’
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谈到这里,布朗罗先生有点不耐烦地咳嗽起来,格林维格先生看来却感到有说不出的欣慰。
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Here, Mr. Brownlow coughed impatiently; which appeared to afford Mr. Grimwig the most exquisite delight.
’He may have worse, I say,’ repeated Mr. Grimwig. ’Where does he come from! Who is he? What is he? He has had a fever. What of that? Fevers are not peculiar to good people; are they? Bad people have fevers sometimes; haven’t they, eh? I knew a man who was hung in Jamaica for murdering his master. He had had a fever six times; he wasn’t recommended to mercy on that account. Pooh! nonsense!’
Now, the fact was, that in the inmost recesses of his own heart, Mr. Grimwig was strongly disposed to admit that Oliver’s appearance and manner were unusually prepossessing; but he had a strong appetite for contradiction, sharpened on this occasion by the finding of the orange-peel; and, inwardly determining that no man should dictate to him whether a boy was well-looking or not, he had resolved, from the first, to oppose his friend. When Mr. Brownlow admitted that on no one point of inquiry could he yet return a satisfactory answer; and that he had postponed any investigation into Oliver’s previous history until he thought the boy was strong enough to hear it; Mr. Grimwig chuckled maliciously. And he demanded, with a sneer, whether the housekeeper was in the habit of counting the plate at night; because if she didn’t find a table-spoon or two missing some sunshiny morning, why, he would be content to--and so forth.
All this, Mr. Brownlow, although himself somewhat of an impetuous gentleman: knowing his friend’s peculiarities, bore with great good humour; as Mr. Grimwig, at tea, was graciously pleased to express his entire approval of the muffins, matters went on very smoothly; and Oliver, who made one of the party, began to feel more at his ease than he had yet done in the fierce old gentleman’s presence.
’And when are you going to hear a full, true, and particular account of the life and adventures of Oliver Twist?’ asked Grimwig of Mr. Brownlow, at the conclusion of the meal; looking sideways at Oliver, as he resumed his subject.
’I’ll tell you what,’ whispered that gentleman to Mr. Brownlow; ’he won’t come up to you to-morrow morning. I saw him hesitate. He is deceiving you, my good friend.’
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“我可以起誓他不会的。”布朗罗先生温和地答道。
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’I’ll swear he is not,’ replied Mr. Brownlow, warmly.
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“假若不是的话,我甘愿――”格林维格先生的手杖又敲了一下。
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’If he is not,’ said Mr. Grimwig, ’I’ll--’ and down went the stick.
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“我敢拿我的生命担保,这孩子很诚实。”布朗罗先生说着,敲了敲桌子。
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’I’ll answer for that boy’s truth with my life!’ said Mr. Brownlow, knocking the table.
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“我敢拿我的脑袋担保他会说谎。”格林维格先生应声说道,也敲了一下桌子。
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’And I for his falsehood with my head!’ rejoined Mr. Grimwig, knocking the table also.
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“走着瞧好了。”布朗罗先生强压住腾起的怒气说道。
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’We shall see,’ said Mr. Brownlow, checking his rising anger.
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“我们会看到的,”格林维格先生带着一种气人的微笑回答,“我们会看到的。”
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’We will,’ replied Mr. Grimwig, with a provoking smile; ’we will.’
As fate would have it, Mrs. Bedwin chanced to bring in, at this moment, a small parcel of books, which Mr. Brownlow had that morning purchased of the identical bookstall-keeper, who has already figured in this history; having laid them on the table, she prepared to leave the room.
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“叫那送书的孩子等一下,贝德温太太。”布朗罗先生说,“有东西要他带回去。”
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’Stop the boy, Mrs. Bedwin!’ said Mr. Brownlow; ’there is something to go back.’
The street-door was opened. Oliver ran one way; and the girl ran another; and Mrs. Bedwin stood on the step and screamed for the boy; but there was no boy in sight. Oliver and the girl returned, in a breathless state, to report that there were no tidings of him.
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“啧啧,太遗憾了,”布朗罗先生多有感触,“这些书今天晚上能送回去就好了。”
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’Dear me, I am very sorry for that,’ exclaimed Mr. Brownlow; ’I particularly wished those books to be returned to-night.’
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“叫奥立弗去送,”格林维格先生脸上挂着讽刺的微笑,说道,“你心中有数,他会平安送到的。”
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’Send Oliver with them,’ said Mr. Grimwig, with an ironical smile; ’he will be sure to deliver them safely, you know.’
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“是啊,先生,如果您同意的话,就让我去吧,”奥立弗请求道,“先生,我一路跑着去。”
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’Yes; do let me take them, if you please, sir,’ said Oliver. ’I’ll run all the way, sir.’
The old gentleman was just going to say that Oliver should not go out on any account; when a most malicious cough from Mr. Grimwig determined him that he should; and that, by his prompt discharge of the commission, he should prove to him the injustice of his suspicions: on this head at least: at once.
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“你应该去,我亲爱的,”老绅士说道,“书在我桌子旁边的一把椅子上,去拿下来。”
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’You _shall_ go, my dear,’ said the old gentleman. ’The books are on a chair by my table. Fetch them down.’
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奥立弗见自己能派上用场,感到很高兴。他胳臂下夹着几本书匆匆走下楼来,帽子拿在手里,听候吩咐。
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Oliver, delighted to be of use, brought down the books under his arm in a great bustle; and waited, cap in hand, to hear what message he was to take.
’You are to say,’ said Mr. Brownlow, glancing steadily at Grimwig; ’you are to say that you have brought those books back; and that you have come to pay the four pound ten I owe him. This is a five-pound note, so you will have to bring me back, ten shillings change.’
’I won’t be ten minutes, sir,’ said Oliver, eagerly. Having buttoned up the bank-note in his jacket pocket, and placed the books carefully under his arm, he made a respectful bow, and left the room. Mrs. Bedwin followed him to the street-door, giving him many directions about the nearest way, and the name of the bookseller, and the name of the street: all of which Oliver said he clearly understood. Having superadded many injunctions to be sure and not take cold, the old lady at length permitted him to depart.
At this moment, Oliver looked gaily round, and nodded before he turned the corner. The old lady smilingly returned his salutation, and, closing the door, went back to her own room.
’Let me see; he’ll be back in twenty minutes, at the longest,’ said Mr. Brownlow, pulling out his watch, and placing it on the table. ’It will be dark by that time.’
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“噢,你真以为他会回来,是不是?”格林维格先生问。
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’Oh! you really expect him to come back, do you?’ inquired Mr. Grimwig.
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“你不这样看?”布朗罗先生微笑着反问道。
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90
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’Don’t you?’ asked Mr. Brownlow, smiling.
读书笔记
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91
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存心闹别扭的劲头在格林维格先生的胸中本来就难以按捺,看到朋友那副满有把握的笑容,他更来劲了。
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91
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The spirit of contradiction was strong in Mr. Grimwig’s breast, at the moment; and it was rendered stronger by his friend’s confident smile.
’No,’ he said, smiting the table with his fist, ’I do not. The boy has a new suit of clothes on his back, a set of valuable books under his arm, and a five-pound note in his pocket. He’ll join his old friends the thieves, and laugh at you. If ever that boy returns to this house, sir, I’ll eat my head.’
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93
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说罢这番话,他把椅子往桌旁拉了拉。两个朋友一言不发坐在那里,各自怀着心事,表放在他俩之间。
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93
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With these words he drew his chair closer to the table; and there the two friends sat, in silent expectation, with the watch between them.
It is worthy of remark, as illustrating the importance we attach to our own judgments, and the pride with which we put forth our most rash and hasty conclusions, that, although Mr. Grimwig was not by any means a bad-hearted man, and though he would have been unfeignedly sorry to see his respected friend duped and deceived, he really did most earnestly and strongly hope at that moment, that Oliver Twist might not come back.
读书笔记
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95
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天色已经很暗,连表上的数字也几乎辨认不出来了。两位老先生依然默不作声地坐在那儿,表放在他俩中间。
读书笔记
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95
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It grew so dark, that the figures on the dial-plate were scarcely discernible; but there the two old gentlemen continued to sit, in silence, with the watch between them.