“嗬,这太了不起了,简直是匪夷所思,小伙子!”
“Never mind, Ill prove it. Dont take my word unsupported.”
“没问题,我全都有根有据。别以为我说的都是天方夜谭。”
But now Portias turn was come to be surprised. Her eyes were spread wide, and she said: “Henry, is that really your money? Have you been fibbingfib n.无伤大雅的谎言, 小谎, 一击, 打 vi.撒小谎vt.一击, 打 to me?”
然而,这时轮到波蒂娅大吃一惊了。她眼睛睁得大大地说:“亨利,这真是你的钱吗?这些天你一直瞒着我?”
“I have, indeed, dearie. But youll forgive me, I know.”
“我确实瞒着你呢,亲爱的。不过,我想你会原谅我。”
She put up an arch pout, and said: “Dont you be so sure. You are a naughtynaughty adj.顽皮的, 淘气的, 不听话的, 没规矩的,不适当的, 下流的 thing to deceive me so!”
她噘起上嘴唇,说: “别太肯定哦。你这个淘气鬼,敢这么骗我!”
“Oh, youll get over it, sweetheart, youll get over it, it was only fun, you know. come, lets be going.”
“啊,一会儿就过去了,心肝儿,一会儿就过去了;你明白吗,就是为了好玩。好了,咱们接着说吧。”
“But wait, wait! The situation, you know. I want to give you the situation.” said my man.
“且慢,且慢!还有,那个职位呢。我得给你那个职位。”我的那位先生说。
“Well,” I said, “Im just as grateful as I can be, but really I dont want one.”
“好吧,”我说,“我不胜感激,不过,我真是用不着再找那份差事啦。”
“But you can have the very choicest one in my gift.”
“在我的职权范围之内,你可以选一个顶好的职位。”
“Thanks again, with all my heart, but I dont even want that one.”
“谢谢,谢谢,我衷心感谢。不过,再好的职位我也不想要啦。”
“Henry, Im ashamed of you. You dont half thank the good gentleman. May I do it for you?”
“亨利,我都替你不好意思了。别辜负了这位好先生的美意,要我替你来表示谢意吗?”
“Indeed, you shall, dear, if you can improve it. Let us see you try.”
“当然可以啦,亲爱的,只要你能做得更出色。看你的啦。”
She walked to my man, got up in his lap, put her arm round his neck, and kissed him right on the mouth. Then the two old gentlemen shouted with laughter, but I was dumfoundeddumfound vt.使说不出话来, just petrified, as you may say. Portia said: “Papa, he has said you havent a situation in your gift that hed take; and I feel just as hurt as—”
她走到我的那位先生跟前,倚到他怀里,拿起他的胳膊搂住自己的脖子,对着他的嘴唇照直亲了起来。那两位先生哈哈大笑,我却不知所措,简直是傻了。波蒂娅说:“爸爸,他说在您的职权范围内没有他想要的职位,我真伤心,就好像——”
“My darling, is that your papa?”
“我的宝贝,他是你爸爸?”
“Yes, hes my steppapa, and the dearest one that ever was. You understand now, dont you, why I was able to laugh when you told me at the ministers, not knowing my relationships, what trouble and worry papas and Uncle Abels scheme was giving you?”
“对,他是我的继父,是全世界有史以来最好的。在公使家里时你还不知道我的家世,当时你告诉我,我爸爸和亚贝尔伯伯的花样让你多么烦恼,多么担心;现在你明白我当时为什么笑了吧。”
Of course, I spoke right up now, without any fooling, and went straight to the point. “Oh, my dearest dear sir, I want to take back what I said. You have got a situation open that I want.”
这样一来,我自然实话实说,不再闹着玩了;我直奔主题,说:“噢,最亲爱的先生,我想把刚才说的话收回来。您确实有个待聘的职位,我想应聘。”
“Name it.”
“说说是哪一个职位。”
“Soninlaw.”
“女婿。”
“Well, well, well! But you know, if you havent ever served in that capacity, you, of course, cant furnishfurnish vt.供应, 提供, 装备, 布置 v.供给recommendations of a sort to satisfy the conditions of the contract, and so—”
“哈,哈,哈!可是你知道,你既然没干过这份差事,显然你也不具备满足我们约定条件所需的长处,所以——”
“Try me—oh, do, I beg of you! Only just try me thirty or forty years, and if—”
“让我试试——啊,一定让我试试,我求您了!只要让我试三四十年就行,假如——”
“Oh, well, all right, its but a little thing to ask, take her along.”
“噢,好,好吧;这也不是什么大不了的要求,带她走好了。”
Happy, we two? There are not words enough in the unabridgedunabridged adj.未经删节的, 完整的 to describe it. And when London got the whole history, a day or two later, of my months adventures with that banknote, and how they ended, did London talk, and have a good time? Yes.
你说我们俩高不高兴?翻遍了全本的词典也凑不够词来形容啊。一两天之后,当伦敦人得知我和百万大钞一个月里的奇遇记始末以后,他们是不是兴致勃勃大聊了一通呢?正是如此。
My Portias papa took that friendly and hospitable bill back to the Bank of England and cashed it, then the Bank canceledcancel vt.取消, 删去 it and made him a present of it, and he gave it to us at our wedding, and it has always hung in its frame in the sacredestsacred adj.神的, 宗教的, 庄严的, 神圣的 place in our home ever since. For it gave me my Portia. But for it I could not have remained in London, would not have appeared at the ministers, never should have met her. And so I always say, “Yes, its a millionpounder, as you see, but it never made but one purchasepurchase vt.买, 购买 n.买, 购买 in its life, and then got the article for only about a tenth part of its value.”
我的波蒂姬的爸爸把那张肯帮忙而且好客的大钞送回英格兰银行兑了现;银行随后注销那张钞票并作为礼物赠给了他;他又把钞票在婚礼上送给了我们。从那以后,那张大钞镶了镜框,一直挂在我们家最神圣的位置上。是它给我送来了我的波蒂娜。要不是有了它,我哪能留在伦敦,哪能到公使家做客呢,更不要说遇上她了。所以我总是说,“不错,您没看走眼,这是一百万英镑;可这东西自从出世以来只用了一次,就再没花过;后来,我只出了大约十分之一的价钱,就把这东西弄到手了。”