We had a lovely time， certainly two of us had， Miss Langham and I. I was so bewitchedbewitch vt.施魔法于， 蛊惑， 迷人 with her that I couldnt count my hands if they went above a double sequence， and when I struck home I never discovered it， and started up the outside row again， and would have lost the game every time， only the girl did the same， she being in just my condition， you see. And consequently neither of us ever got out， or cared to wonder why we didnt. We only just knew we were happy， and didnt wish to know anything else， and didnt want to be interruptedinterrupt vt.打断（正在说话或动作的人）， 中断， 妨碍，插嘴vi.打断（别人的讲话或行动） n.（发给电脑的）中断信号。 And I told her—I did， indeed—told her I loved her， and she—well， she blushed till her hair turned red， but she liked it， she said she did. Oh， there was never such an evening！ Every time I pegged I put on a postscript， every time she pegged she acknowledged receipt of it， counting the hands the same. Why， I couldnt even say “Two for his heels” without adding， “My， how sweet you do look！” and she would say， “Fifteen two， fifteen four， fifteen six， and a pair are eight， and eight are sixteen—do you think so？”—peeping out aslant from under her lasheslash n.鞭子， 鞭打， 睫毛， 责骂， 讽刺 vt.鞭打， 摆动，扎捆， 冲击， 煽动， 讽刺 vi.猛击， 急速甩动， you know， so sweet and cunning. Oh， it was just tootoo！
我们度过了一段美妙的时光；当然说的是我们——朗姆小姐和我。我让她闹得魂不守舍，只要手里的牌超过两顺，我就数不清楚了，自己的分已经到了顶也看不出来，又接着从旁边的一排插起，这样打下去本来是把把必输，幸好那姑娘彼此彼此，和我的情况一模一样，你明白吗？于是我们两个人的得分总是到不了顶，分不出个输赢来，俩人都不在乎、也不想想这到底是怎么回事；我们只觉得彼此都很快活，其余的我们统统不闻不问，也不愿意让人搅了兴头。于是我告诉她——我真那样做了——告诉她我爱她；她呢——嘿，她臊得连头发根都红了，不过她喜欢着呢；她是说了，她喜欢。啊，我何曾经历过如此美妙的夜晚！每打完一把，我算分的时候，总要添油加醋，要是她算分，也心照不宣地和我一样数牌。喏，就算我说“跟两张牌”这句话，也得加上一句“哇，你真好看！”她呢，一边说“十五得两分，十五得四分，十五得六分，还有一对得八分，八分就算十六分，”一边问：“你算算对不对？”——她的眼睛在睫毛后头瞟着我，你是不知道：那么温柔，那么可爱。哎呀，真是太妙了！
Well， I was perfectly honest and square with her， told her I hadnt a cent in the world but just the millionpound note shed heard so much talk about， and it didnt belong to me， and that started her curiosity， and then I talked low， and told her the whole history right from the start， and it nearly killed her laughing. What in the nation she could find to laugh about I couldnt see， but there it was， every halfminute some new detail would fetch her， and I would have to stop as much as a minute and a half to give her a chance to settle downsettle down v.定居， 平静下来， 专心于 again. Why， she laughed herself lame—she did， indeed， I never saw anything like it. I mean I never saw a painful story—a story of a persons troubles and worries and fears—produce just that kind of effect before. So I loved her all the more， seeing she could be so cheerful when there wasnt anything to be cheerful about， for I might soon need that kind of wife， you know， the way things looked. Of course， I told her we should have to wait a couple of years， till I could catch up on my salary， but she didnt mind that， only she hoped I would be as careful as possible in the matter of expenses， and not let them run the least risk of trenching on our third years pay. Then she began to get a little worried， and wondered if we were making any mistake， and starting the salary on a higher figure for the first year than I would get. This was good sense， and it made me feel a little less confident than I had been feeling before， but it gave me a good business idea， and I brought it frankly out. “Portia， dear， would you mind going with me that day， when I confrontconfront vt.使面临， 对抗 those old gentlemen？”
不过，我对她可是襟怀坦白，光明正大。我告诉她，我连一个小钱都没有，就有一张她听说过的、被炒得沸沸扬扬的百万大钞，而且，那张大钞还不是我的，这让她非常好奇；我就悄悄地把前因后果统统给她说了一遍，把她笑了个半死。我搞不清楚她到底笑的是什么，反正她就是一个劲儿地咯咯咯直笑；隔半分钟，就有什么新的情节让她觉得可乐，于是我只好住嘴，给她平静下来的机会。嘿，她都快把自己笑傻了——她真是这样；我还从来没见过这样笑的。我是说从来没见过一个痛苦的故事——一个人的烦恼、焦急和担心——竟然制造出这样的效果。看到她在没什么高兴事的时候居然还能这么高兴，我对她的爱就愈发不可收拾了；你瞧，按那时的情况来看，也许我马上就用得着这么一位太太哪。当然我也告诉她，我们还得等两年，等到我用自己的薪水补上亏空的时候；不过她倒不在乎这些，只盼着我能在开支问题上尽量当心，别让我们第三年的花销有哪怕是一星半点的风险。接着，她开始有点担心了，她想知道我有没有搞错，把头一年起薪估计过高，高出我实得的数目。这话言之有理，让我把原来十足的自信略减了半成；同时，也启发我想出了一个好主意，我就直说了：“我亲爱的波蒂娜，到了我和两位老先生见面的那一天，你愿跟我一起去吗？”
She shrank a little， but said： “No， if my being with you would help heartenhearten vt.鼓励， 激励 vi.振奋 you. But—would it be quite proper， do you think？”
她略微有点迟疑，不过还是说：“只要我去能让你踏实一点，我愿、愿意。可是——你觉得这样合适吗？”
“No， I dont know that it would—in fact， Im afraid it wouldnt， but， you see， theres so much dependent upon it that—”
“我也不知道合不合适——我也担心这不大合适。不过，你知道，你去不去关系可大着哪，所——”
“Then Ill go anyway， proper or improper.” she said， with a beautiful and generousgenerous adj.慷慨的， 大方的， 有雅量的 enthusiasm. “Oh， I shall be so happy to think Im helping！”
“那就别管合不合适，我去就是了。”她用一种可爱的巾帼豪杰的口吻说。“啊，一想到能帮你点儿忙，我太高兴了！”
“Helping， dear？ Why， youll be doing it all. Youre so beautiful and so lovely and so winning， that with you there I can pile our salary up till I break those good old fellows， and theyll never have the heart to strugglestruggle n.竞争， 努力， 奋斗 vi.努力， 奋斗， 挣扎 vt.尽力使得， 使劲移动。”
“亲爱的，怎么是帮点儿忙？嘿，这事全靠你了。你这么漂亮，这么可爱，这么迷人，有你和我一起去，我准能把薪水提得高高的，让那两个好好老先生倾了家，荡了产，还心甘情愿。”
Oh！ you should have seen the rich blood mount， and her happy eyes shine！
哦！你是没见到她当时的样子：满脸春色，眼睛幸福得闪闪发亮！
“You wicked flatterer！ There isnt a word of truth in what you say， but still Ill go with you. Maybe it will teach you not to expect other people to look with your eyes.”
“讨厌鬼，光会说好听的！你连半句实话都没有，别管怎么样，我还是跟你一起去。也许这能给你个教训：别指望你怎么看人，人家就怎么看你。”
Were my doubts dissipateddissipate v.驱散， （使）（云、雾、疑虑等）消散， 浪费（金钱或时间）？ Was my confidence restored？ You may judge by this fact： privately I raised my salary to twelve hundred the first year on the spot. But I didnt tell her， I saved it for a surprise.
我心中的疑云一扫而空了吗？我重又信心十足了吗？你可以根据这件事来判断：我当时就私下把头一年的薪水提高到一千二百英镑。不过我没告诉他：我要留着这件事给她一个惊喜。
All the way home I was in the clouds， Hastings talking， I not hearing a word. When he and I entered my parlorparlor n.客厅， 会客室， 店营业室， 业务室 adj.客厅的， he brought me to myself with his fervent appreciations of my manifoldmanifold n.复印本， 多种 adj.多种形式的， 有许多部分的，多方面的 vt.复写， 繁殖， 增多 comforts and luxuries.
回家时我一路上像踩着棉花一样，赫斯廷斯说的话，一句都没钻进我耳朵里头去。直到赫斯廷斯跟着进了我的客厅，对应有尽有、豪华舒适的陈设赞不绝口的时候，我才清醒过来。
“Let me just stand here a little and look my fill. Dear me！ Its a palace—its just a palace！ And in it everything a body could desire， including cosy coal fire and supper standing ready. Henry， it doesnt merely make me realize how rich you are； it makes me realize， to the bone， to the marrowmarrow n.髓， 骨髓， 精华， 活力， <苏格兰>配偶， how poor I am—how poor I am， and how miserable， how defeated， routed， annihilated！”
