Charles Dickens
One night in Doughty Street, Mrs. Charles Dickens, my wife and myself were sitting round the fire cosily enjoying a chat, when Dickens, for some purpose came suddenly into the room. “What, you here!” he exclaimed; “I’ll bring my work.” It was his monthly portion of Oliver Twist for Bentley’s. In a few minutes he returned, manu in hand, and while he was pleasantly discoursing he employed himself in carrying1 to a corner of the room a little table, at which he seated2 himself and recommenced his writing. We, at his bidding, went on talking our “little nothings,”— he, every now and then (the feather of his pen still moving rapidly from side to side), put in a cheerful interlude. It was interesting to watch, upon the sly,3 the mind and the muscles working. And to note the working brow, the set of the mouth, with the tongue tightly pressed against the closed lips, as was his habit.4
— H. Burnet
cosily adv. 暖和舒适地
portion n. 一部分
manu n. 手稿
discourse v. 交谈
recommence v. 重新开始
bidding n. 吩咐
nothing n. 无关紧要的事物
interlude n. 插曲
upon the sly adv. 偷偷地
set n.（身体或其部位的）姿势；模样
中译 笔耕（狄更斯）
在道蒂街的一个夜晚，我和查尔斯·狄更斯太太，还有我的夫人，舒适惬意地围坐在火炉旁，欣然闲聊。突然间，狄更斯不知有什么事来到房间里。“怎么，你们在这儿呀！”他惊喊道，“我去把我的活儿拿来。”这活儿是他为宾特莱的杂志撰写的每月一期的《雾都孤儿》连载稿。几分钟后，他拿着手稿回来了。他一边乐呵呵地说着话，一边自己动手把一张小桌子挪到房间的一个角落里，坐定了就动手写起来。我们依照他的吩咐，继续谈着那些无关紧要的事情，而他（只见他笔上的羽毛迅速地从稿纸的一端移到另一端）时而还会高兴地插上几句。暗中看着他的脑袋和肌肉正在运作，注意到他那正在思索的眉梢，习惯性地用舌头顶着抿合的双唇时的那种嘴形，真叫人觉得饶有趣味。
——〔英〕伯内特
原来如此！
Charles Dickens（狄更斯，1812-1870），英国作家，由于家境日衰，他十二岁生日刚过，就不得不到鞋油作坊做工；后来在律师事务所当过缮写员。当他成为报社采访记者后，在新闻界崭露头角，最后走上了文学创作的道路，并一跃成为英国文坛上众目所瞩的明星。他的作品甚多，重要的有《匹克威克外传》（Pickwick Papers, 1836-1937）、《大卫·科波菲尔》（David Copperfield, 1849-50）、《双城记》（A Tale of Two Cities, 1859）等等。
文中提到的Oliver Twist（《雾都孤儿》），是作者著名长篇小说之一，对十九世纪工业社会的种种问题，包括贫富悬殊及劳工在恶劣环境下工作的情况，有深刻的探讨。
本文作者Henry Burnet（伯内特）是狄更斯的好友。
增值英语
1 he employed himself in carrying...a little table.
句式 employ oneself in doing sth / in sth 忙于（某事），从事（某活动），相当于 engage oneself in doing sth / in sth 或 occupy / busy oneself in doing sth / with sth：
He employed himself in painting on Sundays. 每逢星期日他致力于作画。
句式 也可用被动式 be employed in 和 be engaged in：
She was employed in watering the garden. 她正在花园里浇水。
They were engaged in intensive training. 他们正在进行强化训练。
2 he seated himself...
seated（就座）是个正式用语：
She seated herself next to him. 她挨着他坐下。
Ladies and gentlemen, please be seated. 女士们，先生们，请坐。
3 to watch, upon the sly, the mind...
upon / on the sly 偷偷地，暗地里：
The boys smoked on the sly. 男孩们偷偷地吸烟。
He was working for another company on the sly. 他暗地里为另一家公司工作。
4 ...as was his habit
这句解作“（这）一如他的习惯”。
句式 as + be + n. / adj. as 在此用作代词，意思是“这事实”“这情况”：
The night turned cold, as is usual around here. 夜晚变得很冷，在这一带经常如此。
He is absent, as is often the case. 他现在缺席，这是经常的事情。
名言
No man is useless in this world who lightens the burden of someone else. — Charles Dickens
在这个世界上能为别人减轻负担的人都是有用的。 —— 狄更斯