Mr. George was invited，and he came； princes and counts came，and they danced，one better than the other. But Emily could only dance one dance—the first； for she made a false step—nothing of consequenceconsequence n.结果，推理，推论，因果关系，重要的地位； but her foot hurt her，so that she had to be careful，and leave off dancing，and look at the others. So she sat and looked on，and the architect stood by her side.
乔治先生得到邀请，他来了。王子们和爵爷们来了。他们跳舞一个比一个跳得好，不过爱米莉只跳完了第一个舞。跳舞的时候她的脚扭了一下，不太严重，但是感到疼痛。碰到这样的事就得小心，不能再跳，只能看着别人跳。她坐那里看着，建筑师站在她的身旁。
“I suppose you are giving her the whole history of St. Peters.” said the General，as he passed by； and smiled，like the personificationpersonification n.化身 of patronagepatronage n.保护人的身份，保护，赞助，光顾。
“您大概把整座圣彼得教堂都给了她了！”将军走过去的时候说道，他慈祥地微笑着。
With the same patronizing smile he received Mr. George a few days afterwards. The young man came，no doubt，to return thanks for the invitation to the ball. What else could it be？ But indeed there was something else，something very astonishing and startling. He spoke words of sheer lunacylunacy n.精神失常，精神病，so that the General could hardly believe his own ears. It was “the height of rhodomontaderhodomontade n.大言不惭，吹牛adj.自吹的，吹牛的，说大话vi.大言不惭” an offer，quite an inconceivable offer—Mr. George came to ask the hand of Emily in marriage！
几天之后，他又以同样慈祥的微笑接待了乔治先生。年轻人显然是来感谢那次邀请他参加舞会，他还会为了什么别的事呢？会的。最使人惊讶、最使人震惊的事：他讲了一些狂言乱语，将军简直不相信自己的耳朵，这是不知天高地厚的宣言，不可思议的请求：乔治先生请求娶小爱米莉为妻。
“Man！” cried the General，and his brain seemed to be boiling. “I dont understand you at all. What is it you say？ What is it you want？ I dont know you. Sir！ Man！ What possesses you to break into my house？ And am I to stand here and listen to you？” He stepped backwards into his bedroom，locked the door behind him，and left Mr. George standing alone. George stood still for a few minutes，and then turned round and left the room. Emily was standing in the corridor.
“我说你这个人！”将军说道，脑袋像炸开一样。“我简直不明白你！你说些什么？你要干什么？我不认识你，先生！你这个人！你梦想着掺入到我的家里来！我还住在这里呢，还是我不住在这里了？”他退到自己的寝室里去了，把门锁上，让乔治先生单独站在那里。乔治站了几分钟，然后转过了身，爱米莉站在走廊里。
“My father has answered？” she said，and her voice trembled.
“我父亲答应了？”她问道，声音有些颤抖。
George pressed her hand.
乔治捏了捏她的手。
“He has escaped me，” he replied； “but a better time will come.”
“他躲开我了！——还会有更好的时机的！”
There were tears in Emilys eyes，but in the young mans eyes shone courage and confidence； and the sun shone through the window，and cast his beams on the pair，and gave them his blessing.
爱米莉的眼睛里有泪，年轻男子的眼里充满了信心和勇气。阳光照在他俩身上，为他们祝福。
The General sat in his room，bursting hot. Yes，he was still boiling，until he boiled over in the exclamation，“Lunacy！ porter！ madness！”
在自己的屋子里，将军怒不可遏。是啊，他的怒气还在上升，于是这样一句话冲出口来：“疯了，看门人的疯狂症！”
Not an hour was over before the Generals lady knew it out of the Generals own mouth. She called Emily，and remained alone with her.
不到一小时，将军夫人就从将军口中听说了。她把爱米莉叫来，单独和她坐在一起。
“You poor child，” she said； “To insultinsult vt.n.侮辱，凌辱 you so！ to insult us so！ There are tears in your eyes，too，but they become you well. You look beautiful in tears. You look as I looked on my weddingday. Weep on，my sweet Emily.”
“你这可怜的孩子！这样侮辱你！侮辱我们！你的眼里也有眼泪。不过眼泪和你很相称！流泪的时候，你很可爱！你的样子和我结婚的那天很相像。哭吧，小爱米莉！”
“Yes，that I must，” said Emily，“if you and my father do not say ‘yes’。”
“是的，我要哭！”爱米莉说，“要是你和父亲不答应的话！”
“Child！” screamed the Generals lady； “You are ill！ You are talking wildly，and I shall have a most terrible headache！ Oh，what a misfortune is coming upon our house！ Dont make your mother die，Emily，or you will have no mother.” And the eyes of the Generals lady were wet，for she could not bear to think of her own death.
“孩子！”将军夫人喊道；“你病了！说起胡话来了。我严重的头痛病又发作了！怎么会有那么多的不幸降临到我们家里！别叫你母亲死，爱米莉，那样一来，你便没有母亲了！”将军夫人的眼睛湿了，她想到自己的死，她受不了。
In the newspapers there was an announcement. “Mr. George has been elected Professor of the Fifth Class，number Eight.”
报纸上任命的栏目里有这样一条：乔治先生被任命为教授，五等八级。
“Its a pity that his parents are dead and cannot read it.” said the new porter people，who now lived in the cellar under the Generals apartments. They knew that the Professor had been born and grown up within their four walls.
“可惜他的父母躺进了坟墓，不能读到这个消息了！”现在住在将军家地下室里的新看门人说道，他们知道这位教授就是出生在这四壁之内，在里面长大的。
“Now hell get a salary.” said the man.
“现在他可得纳等级税了！”男人说道。
“Yes，thats not much for a poor child.” said the woman.
“是啊，这对一个贫苦孩子来说不是太过分了吗！”妻子说道。
“Eighteen dollars a year.” said the man. “Why，its a good deal of money.”
“一年十八块银币！”男人说；“是啊，不少钱呢！”
“No，I mean the honor of it！” replied the wife. “Do you think he cares for the money？ Those few dollars he can earn a hundred times over，and most likely hell get a rich wife into the bargainbargain n.契约，合同，成交商品，便宜货v.议价。 If we had children of our own，husband，our child should be an architect and a professor too.”
“不是，我是说他的高位！”妇人说道。“你以为他会在乎那点钱，他能挣比它多好多倍的钱呢！再说，他可以娶到一位富有的妻子了。如果生孩子，你啊，我们的孩子也要当建筑师，当教授！”
George was spoken well of in the cellar，and he was spoken well of in the first floor. The old Count took upon himself to do that.
住在地下室的人夸了乔治一番，一层楼的人也夸奖了他一番；老伯爵也赞扬了他。
The pictures he had drawn in his childhood gave occasion for it. But how did the conversation come to turn on these pictures？ Why，they had been talking of Russia and of Moscow，and thus mention was made of the KremlinKremlin n.克里姆林宫，which little George had once drawn for Miss Emily. He had drawn many pictures，but the Count especially remembered one，“Emilys Castle”，where she was to sleep，and to dance，and to play at receiving guests.
这都是儿童时代他的那些图画引起的。不过为什么要谈到这些呢？人们谈论俄罗斯，谈论莫斯科，于是人们当然也谈到小乔治画了送给爱米莉小姐的克里姆林宫。他画了许多画，伯爵特别记得其中的一幅“小爱米莉的宫殿”，她住在那里面，在里面跳舞，在里面玩“客来到”游戏。
“The Professor was a true man，” said the Count，“and would be a privy councillor before he died，it was not at all unlikely； and he might build a real castle for the young lady before that time came： why not？”
“教授很能干，他一定会当上老枢密参事才终结一生。这并非不可能，先前他说要为现在这位十分年轻的小姐建造一座宫殿；为什么不呢？”