《傲慢与偏见》 第58章(8)

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"Not at all. When I went away, I felt that it would soon happen."

“完全不觉得意外。我临走的时候，便觉得事情马上会成功。”

"That is to say, you had given your permission. I guessed as much." And though he exclaimed at the term, she found that it had been pretty much the case.

“那么说，你早就允许了他啦。真让我猜着了。”虽然他意图声辨，说她这种说法不对，她却认为事实确实如此。

"On the evening before my going to London," said he, "I made a confession¹ to him, which I believe I ought to have made long ago. I told him of all that had occurred to make my former interference in his affairs absurd and impertinent. His surprise was great. He had never had the slightest suspicion. I told him, moreover, that I believed myself mistaken in supposing, as I had done, that your sister was indifferent to him; and as I could easily perceive that his attachment² to her was unabated, I felt no doubt of their happiness together."

他说：“我到伦敦去的前一个晚上，便把这事情向他坦白了，其实早就应该坦白的。我把过去的事都对他说了，使他明白我当初阻挡他那件事，真是又荒谬又冒失。他大吃一惊。他从来没有想到会有这种事。我还告诉他说，我从前以为你姐姐对他平平淡淡，现在才明白是我自己想错了；我立刻看出他对吉英依旧一往情深，因此我十分相信他们俩的结合一定会幸福。”

Elizabeth could not help smiling at his easy manner of directing his friend.

伊丽莎白听到他能够这样轻而易举地指挥他的朋友，不禁一笑。

"Did you speak from your own observation," said she, "when you told him that my sister loved him, or merely from my information last spring?"

她问道：“你跟他说，我姐姐爱他，你这话是自己体验出来的呢，还是春天里听我说的？”

"From the former. I had narrowly observed her during the two visits which I had lately made here; and I was convinced of her affection."

“是我自己体验出来的。最近我到你家里去过两次，仔细观察了她一下，便看出她对他感情很深切。”

"And your assurance of it, I suppose, carried immediate³ conviction to him."

“我想，一经你说明，他也立刻明白了吧。”

"It did. Bingley is most unaffectedly modest. His diffidence had prevented his depending on his own judgment⁴ in so anxious a case, but his reliance on mine made every thing easy. I was obliged to confess one thing, which for a time, and not unjustly, offended him. I could not allow myself to conceal⁵ that your sister had been in town three months last winter, that I had known it, and purposely kept it from him. He was angry. But his anger, I am persuaded, lasted no longer than he remained in any doubt of your sister's sentiments. He has heartily⁶ forgiven me now."

“的确如此。彬格莱为人极其诚恳谦虚。他因为胆怯，所以遇到这种迫切问题，自己便拿不定主张，总是相信我的话，因此这次一切都做得很顺利。我不得不向他招认了一件事，我估计他在短时期里当然难免要为这件事生气。我老实对他说，去年冬天你姐姐进城去待了三个月，当时我知道这件事，却故意瞒住了他。他果然很生气。可是我相信，他只要明白了你姐姐对他有情感，他的气愤自然会消除。他现在已经真心诚意地宽恕了我。”

Elizabeth longed to observe that Mr. Bingley had been a most delightful⁷ friend; so easily guided that his worth was invaluable⁸; but she checked herself. She remembered that he had yet to learn to be laughed at, and it was rather too early to begin. In anticipating the happiness of Bingley, which of course was to be inferior only to his own, he continued the conversation till they reached the house. In the hall they parted.

伊丽莎白觉得，彬格莱这样容易听信别人的话，真是难得；她禁不往要说，彬格莱真是个太可爱的人，可是她毕竟没有把这句话说出口。她想起了目前还不便跟达西开玩笑，现在就开他的玩笑未免太早。他继续跟她谈下去，预言着彬格莱的幸福──这种幸福当然抵不上他自己的幸福。两人一直块谈到走进家门，步入穿堂，方才分开。

1 confession   

n.自白，供认，承认

参考例句：

• Her confession was simply tantamount to a casual explanation.她的自白简直等于一篇即席说明。
• The police used torture to extort a confession from him.警察对他用刑逼供。

2 attachment   

n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附

参考例句：

• She has a great attachment to her sister.她十分依恋她的姐姐。
• She's on attachment to the Ministry of Defense.她现在隶属于国防部。

3 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

4 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

5 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

6 heartily   

adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很

参考例句：

• He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿，就出去找他的马。
• The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手，热情地和我握手。

7 delightful   

adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的

参考例句：

• We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
• Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。

8 invaluable   

adj.无价的，非常宝贵的，极为贵重的

参考例句：

• A computer would have been invaluable for this job.一台计算机对这个工作的作用会是无法估计的。
• This information was invaluable to him.这个消息对他来说是非常宝贵的。