Gaskell的《南與北》

Elizabeth Gaskell是與狄更斯同時代的知名女作家，作品曾在狄更斯首創的雜誌連載刊出。她是《簡愛》作者布朗特的密友，為後者寫過一部傳記。小說《南與北》描寫十九世紀變動時代的英格蘭，以下抽譯一段（是篇舊譯，有時間再修改）：

'I beg your pardon, ma'am. The gentleman was gone so quickly, I had no time to tell him. Mr. Thornton called almost directly after you left; and, as I understood from what the gentleman said, you would be back in an hour, I told him so, and he came again about five minutes ago, and said he would wait for Mr. Hale. He is in your room now, ma'am.' 'Thank you. My father will return soon, and then you can tell him.'

「對不起，小姐。老先生出去得這麼快，我還來不及告訴他，剛才你們才走，宋騰先生就正好來了。我因為聽老先生說，以為你們一個鐘頭之內就會回來，所以也這麼跟宋騰先生說了。結果他五分鐘前又轉回來，說是等赫爾先生。現在就在你們房裡，小姐。」「謝謝，我爹一會兒就回來，到時你再跟他說。」

Margaret opened the door and went in with the straight, fearless, dignified presence habitual to her. She felt no awkwardness; she had too much the habits of society for that. Here was a person come on business to her father; and, as he was one who had shown himself obliging, she was disposed to treat him with a full measure of civility. Mr. Thornton was a good deal more surprised and discomfited than she. Instead of a quiet, middle-aged clergyman, a young lady came forward with frank dignity,--a young lady of a different type to most of those he was in the habit of seeing.

瑪格麗特打開門，用她一向坦然無懼的矜貴神態走進房內，一點也不覺得彆扭。她見過的場面多了，不會為這點小事感到拘促不安。人家是來找父親談正事，而且已經上門恭候，她自然要好好地以禮接待。宋騰先生反而大大嚇了一跳，比瑪格麗特尷尬多了。進門來的，不是個沉靜安祥的中年牧師｜｜卻是位年輕小姐，坦然大方，矜貴自持｜｜跟他平常常見的年輕小姐完全不同典型。

Her dress was very plain: a close straw bonnet of the best material and shape, trimmed with white ribbon; a dark silk gown, without any trimming or flounce; a large Indian shawl, which hung about her in long heavy folds, and which she wore as an empress wears her drapery. He did not understand who she was, as he caught the simple, straight, unabashed look, which showed that his being there was of no concern to the beautiful countenance, and called up no flush of surprise to the pale ivory of the complexion. He had heard that Mr. Hale had a daughter, but he had imagined that she was a little girl.

她的穿著也很簡單：緊貼的草帽，鑲著白色緞帶，質料和樣式都是最講究的；深色的絲質長裙，不帶任何裝飾或花樣；一襲印度披肩，層層厚褶長長地垂裹著她，她披著它宛如女皇襲著她的王袍。他不知道她是誰，卻看見她臉上自然大方的神情，沒有半點羞澀，顯然他的出現絲毫不會驚動這張泰然自容的美麗面孔，也未令雪白的皮膚泛起一點受驚的紅潮。他聽說赫爾先生有個女兒，可是一直以為只是個小女孩。

'Mr. Thornton, I believe!' said Margaret, after a half-instant's pause, during which his unready words would not come. 'Will you sit down. My father brought me to the door, not a minute ago, but unfortunately he was not told that you were here, and he has gone away on some business. But he will come back almost directly. I am sorry you have had the trouble of calling twice.' Mr. Thornton was in habits of authority himself, but she seemed to assume some kind of rule over him at once. He had been getting impatient at the loss of his time on a market-day, the moment before she appeared, yet now he calmly took a seat at her bidding.

瑪格麗特頓了半秒，他則說不出任何話來，她開口招呼：「我想，您一定是宋騰先生！請坐。家父剛送我回來，還不到一分鐘前。不巧還來不及知道您在這兒，就又出去辦別的事了。不過他馬上就回來。抱歉讓您跑了兩趟。」宋騰先生一向習慣由自己發號施令，可是她似乎立刻對他產生某種掌控力。就在她露面的前一刻，他本來已經有點不耐煩了，今天原是市集日，卻浪費時間在這裡乾等。可是現在她一聲令下，他馬上鎮靜地坐下來。

'Do you know where it is that Mr. Hale has gone to? Perhaps I might be able to find him.' 'He has gone to a Mr. Donkin's in Canute Street. He is the land-lord of the house my father wishes to take in Crampton.' Mr. Thornton knew the house. He had seen the advertisement, and been to look at it, in compliance with a request of Mr. Bell's that he would assist Mr. Hale to the best of his power: and also instigated by his own interest in the case of a clergyman who had given up his living under circumstances such as those of Mr. Hale. Mr. Thornton had thought that the house in Crampton was really just the thing; but now that he saw Margaret, with her superb ways of moving and looking, he began to feel ashamed of having imagined that it would do very well for the Hales, in spite of a certain vulgarity in it which had struck him at the time of his looking it over.

「妳知道赫爾先生上那兒去了嗎？也許我可以找著他。」「他去克努街一位當肯先生家。家父想租下他在克瑞普頓的房子。」宋騰知道那戶房子。他見過招租廣告，也去親自看過，是應貝爾先生之托，儘可能幫幫赫爾先生。事實上，也因為他自己好奇，天下竟有人如赫爾先生，就這樣放棄好好的牧師俸祿。宋騰先生本來覺得克瑞普頓的房子蠻合用；可是現在見了瑪格麗特，看見她出色的模樣舉止，他忽然覺得很慚愧，當初竟會認為赫爾一家住那戶房子夠好了。當初去看的時候，明明覺得那地方有幾分鄙俗。

Margaret could not help her looks; but the short curled upper lip, the round, massive up-turned chin, the manner of carrying her head, her movements, full of a soft feminine defiance, always gave strangers the impression of haughtiness. She was tired now, and would rather have remained silent, and taken the rest her father had planned for her; but, of course, she owed it to herself to be a gentlewoman, and to speak courteously from time to time to this stranger; not over-brushed, nor over-polished, it must be confessed, after his rough encounter with Milton streets and crowds. She wished that he would go, as he had once spoken of doing, instead of sitting there, answering with curt sentences all the remarks she made.

瑪格麗特不是故意，她長的就是這個樣子，又有什麼辦法。可是她小巧微噘的上唇，厚實圓翹的下巴，頭部的姿態，舉手投足之間，處處流露出屬於柔軟的女性傲然氣息，總令陌生人產生一種不把人放在眼裡的高傲印象。此刻的她很疲累，真想安安靜靜，照父親的吩咐好好歇息一下。可是她當然不能任自己如此，她是好人家有教養的女兒，因此不時必須和這位陌生人客氣地寒喧兩句。實在說起來，看他衣著，不很挺括，鞋履，有些塵土，這是在彌爾頓街頭那粗糙世界走動的必然結果。她希望他起身告辭，先前他不也這樣表示過嗎，為什麼，卻一直坐著不動呢，只簡潔地回應她每句話。

She had taken off her shawl, and hung it over the back of her chair. She sat facing him and facing the light; her full beauty met his eye; her round white flexile throat rising out of the full, yet lithe figure; her lips, moving so slightly as she spoke, not breaking the cold serene look of her face with any variation from the one lovely haughty curve; her eyes, with their soft gloom, meeting his with quiet maiden freedom. He almost said to himself that he did not like her, before their conversation ended; he tried so to compensate himself for the mortified feeling, that while he looked upon her with an admiration he could not repress, she looked at him with proud indifference, taking him, he thought, for what, in his irritation, he told himself he was--a great rough fellow, with not a grace or a refinement about him. Her quiet coldness of demeanour he interpreted into contemptuousness, and resented it in his heart to the pitch of almost inclining him to get up and go away, and have nothing more to do with these Hales, and their superciliousness.

她已經把披肩取下，搭在椅背上，面朝他坐著，臉向著光；她整個的美，在他眼前一覽無遺：圓潤雪白的頸項，頎長嬝嫋地起於豐盈柔軟的身軀。當她說話的時候，櫻唇輕啟是那麼地細微，決計不讓美妙高傲弧線的任何移動，打破寧靜嬌容的淡然神情。她的眼眸，柔和深邃，靜靜地帶著一種處女純潔的直率，迎看他的目光。他們交談未了，他幾乎就要告訴自己，他不喜歡她。他很想這樣做，因為他有受創的感覺，想要補平這份傷害。他是這麼不能自已地仰慕望她，她卻這麼高傲，這麼毫不在乎地回望他，把他當做──他心想，雖然老大不快，卻也只有自承自己確是如此──道地的大老粗，全身不帶半點風度儀表。她的靜持淡漠，他解讀成輕蔑不屑，心頭被忿怒咬囓已極，幾乎想立刻起身離去，再也不要和這赫爾一家人，和他們的神氣臭架子，有任何牽扯關連。