雙語(yǔ)·《刀鋒》 第七章 四

CHAPTER SEVEN 4
第七章 四

When I passed through Paris again the Maturins had gone and other people lived in Elliott's apartment. I missed Isabel.She was good to look at and easy to talk to.She was quick on the uptake and bore no malice.I have never seen her since.I am a poor and dilatory correspondent and Isabel was no letter writer.If she could not communicate with you by telephone or telegram she did not communicate with you.I had a Christmas card from her that Christmas with a pretty picture on it of a house with a Colonial portico surrounded by live oaks, which I took to be the house of the plantation that they had been unable to sell when they wanted the money and which now they were probably willing to keep.The postmark showed that it had been posted at Dallas, so I concluded that the deal had gone through satisfactorily and they were settled there.
當(dāng)我再次路過(guò)巴黎時(shí)，馬圖林一家已經(jīng)走了，艾略特的公寓房里有了新的住戶(hù)。我還是蠻想念伊莎貝爾的——她有閉月羞花的容貌，又非常健談。她善于體察人意，沒(méi)有什么壞心眼。可惜我再也沒(méi)有見(jiàn)過(guò)她。我不愛(ài)寫(xiě)信，也懶得寫(xiě)信，而伊莎貝爾則從不寫(xiě)信。如果不能給你通電話(huà)或發(fā)電報(bào)，那就會(huì)徹底跟你失掉聯(lián)系。那年圣誕節(jié)，我倒是收到她一張賀卡，上面有張漂亮的照片，照的是一幢房屋，房屋的門(mén)廊是殖民地時(shí)期的，周?chē)L(zhǎng)著郁郁蔥蔥的橡樹(shù)。這恐怕就是農(nóng)場(chǎng)上的那幢房屋，他們?nèi)卞X(qián)時(shí)曾想賣(mài)賣(mài)不掉，現(xiàn)在大概準(zhǔn)備留下來(lái)自家住了。郵戳表明賀卡是從達(dá)拉斯寄來(lái)的，由此可以斷定那樁生意已經(jīng)成功，他們已在達(dá)拉斯定居。

I have never been to Dallas, but I suppose that, like other American cities I know, it has a residential district within easy motoring distance of the business section and the country club where the affluent have fine houses in large gardens with a handsome view of hill or dale from the living-room windows. In such a district and in such a house, furnishedfrom cellar to attic in the latest mode by the most fashionable decorator in New York, Isabel certainly dwells.I can only hope that her Renoir, her flower piece by Manet, her landscape by Monet, and her Gauguin do not look too dated.The dining-room is doubtless of a convenient size for the women's luncheons which she gives at frequent intervals and at which the wine is good and the food superlative.Isabel learnt a great deal in Paris.She would not have settled on the house unless she had seen at a glance that the living-room would do very well for the sub-deb dances which it would be her pleasant duty to give as her daughters grew older.Joan and Priscilla must be now of a marriageable age.I am sure that they have been admirably brought up；they have been sent to the best schools and Isabel has taken care that they should acquire the accomplishments that must make them desirable in the eyes of eligible young men.Though I suppose Gray by now is still a little redder in the face, more jowly, balder, and a good deal heavier, I can't believe that Isabel has changed.She is still more beautiful than her daughters.The Maturins must be a great asset to the community and I have little doubt that they are as popular as they deserve to be.Isabel is entertaining, gracious, complaisant, and tactful；Gray, of course, is the quintessence of the Regular Guy.
我沒(méi)去過(guò)達(dá)拉斯，但可以想象得來(lái)那兒跟美國(guó)其他的城市別無(wú)二致——從住宅區(qū)開(kāi)車(chē)去商業(yè)中心和鄉(xiāng)間俱樂(lè)部都很方便；富貴人家住豪宅，有大花園，從客廳窗戶(hù)可望見(jiàn)風(fēng)景優(yōu)美的山丘或峽谷。伊莎貝爾肯定會(huì)住這樣的小區(qū)，住這樣的豪宅，從地窖到閣樓都是由紐約最時(shí)髦的屋內(nèi)裝飾師按照最時(shí)新的式樣布置。我只希望她的那些畫(huà)——雷諾阿的畫(huà)、馬奈的花卉、莫奈的風(fēng)景以及高更的畫(huà)，掛在她家墻上，不要顯得太過(guò)時(shí)。餐廳無(wú)疑會(huì)不大不小，正適合伊莎貝爾隔三岔五請(qǐng)女友們來(lái)吃午飯，好酒好菜地招待她們。她在巴黎長(zhǎng)了不少見(jiàn)識(shí)，一眼就可以看出客廳合不合適，客廳不如意她是不會(huì)住的。眼見(jiàn)兩個(gè)女兒一天天長(zhǎng)大，她還指望在客廳為女兒舉辦交際舞會(huì)呢——這可是為人母的一項(xiàng)愜意的職責(zé)?，F(xiàn)在，瓊和普里西拉恐怕已到了談婚論嫁的年紀(jì)。她們姐妹肯定有令人欽羨的教養(yǎng)，上的是最好的學(xué)校；伊莎貝爾準(zhǔn)會(huì)叫她們學(xué)習(xí)琴棋書(shū)畫(huà)，讓門(mén)當(dāng)戶(hù)對(duì)的小伙子們一見(jiàn)傾心。格雷想必臉色更紅，心情更愉快，頭更禿，體重也大大增加了。若說(shuō)伊莎貝爾，我堅(jiān)信不會(huì)有什么變化。她會(huì)依然光彩照人，美貌不輸她的兩個(gè)千金。馬圖林一家在社區(qū)里一定很有分量。我堅(jiān)信，他們一定人緣好，頗受歡迎。伊莎貝爾風(fēng)趣幽默、彬彬有禮、殷勤好客、識(shí)分寸知進(jìn)退，而格雷出類(lèi)拔萃，是人之佼佼者。