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三
"Our house is very far from the center, but the little canal is very comme il faut. "
“我们的房子离市中心很远，但这条小运河很不错。”
"It's the sweetest corner of Venice and I can imagine nothing more charming, " I hastened to reply. The old lady's voice was very thin and weak, but it had an agreeable, cultivated murmur, and there was wonder in the thought that that individual note had been in Jeffrey Aspern's ear.
“这是威尼斯最美妙的一角了，我想象不出比这里更迷人的地方了。” 我赶紧回答。这老妇人的声音单薄虚弱，但却有着令人愉悦的、有教养的低语声。想到杰弗里·阿斯本曾经把这独特的嗓音听在耳中，真是觉得惊叹。
"Please do sit down there. I hear very well, " she said quietly, as if perhaps I had been shouting at her; and the chair she pointed to was at a certain distance.
“请坐在那里。我可以听清楚。” 她轻声地说道，就像我朝她嚷嚷过似的。她指的那把椅子离她还有点儿远。
I took possession of it, telling her that I was perfectly aware that I had intruded, that I had not been properly introduced and could only throw myself upon her indulgence. Perhaps the other lady, the one I had had the honor of seeing the day before, would have explained to her about the garden. That was literally what had given me courage to take a step so unconventional.
我坐下来，对她说我非常清楚我打扰她们了，我还没有被适当地引荐，只能请她见谅。也许另外一位女士，就是昨天我有幸见到的那位女士，已经向她说明了有关花园的事了。那就是真正给我勇气，让我走出这不寻常的一步的原因。
I had fallen in love at sight with the whole place (she herself probably was so used to it that she did not know the impression it was capable of making on a stranger), and I had felt it was really a case to risk something.
我对这整个地方一见钟情（她本人可能太习惯这里了，所以无法了解它能留给一个陌生人留下怎样的印象），所以我觉得这里值得我冒险一试。
Was her own kindness in receiving me a sign that I was not wholly out in my calculation? It would render me extremely happy to think so. I could give her my word of honor that I was a most respectable, inoffensive person and that as an inmate they would be barely conscious of my existence. I would conform to any regulations, any restrictions if they would only let me enjoy the garden. Moreover I should be delighted to give her references, guarantees; they would be of the very best, both in Venice and in England as well as in America.
她这么赏脸地亲自见我，是不是表示我并非完全失算？这么想，让我非常开心。我以自己的荣誉向她保证，我是个品行最为端正、最没有恶意的人。作为房客，她们简直可以忽略我的存在。只要她们能让我享有花园，我愿意遵守一切的规矩，一切的约束。而且，我会很荣幸地找人向她引荐我，担保我，这些人不论是在威尼斯，在英国，还是在美国都是有头有脸的人物。
She listened to me in perfect stillness and I felt that she was looking at me with great attention, though I could see only the lower part of her bleached and shriveled face. Independently of the refining process of old age it had a delicacy which once must have been great. She had been very fair; she had had a wonderful complexion.
她极其沉静地听我说话。我感觉得到，她很专注地看着我，虽然我只能看见她蜡白干瘪的脸的下半部分。除了岁月磨砺所留下的痕迹，她显出一种娇美，一种曾经必定非凡的娇美。她以前皮肤很白皙，面色极好。
She was silent a little after I had ceased speaking; then she inquired, "If you are so fond of a garden why don't you go to terra firma, where there are so many far better than this? "
等我说完话，她沉默了一阵，然后问道： “如果你那么喜欢花园，为什么不去陆地？那里有很多花园，远比这里的强。”
"Oh, it's the combination! " I answered, smiling; and then, with rather a flight of fancy, "It's the idea of a garden in the middle of the sea. "
“哦，这是一种结合体！” 我微笑答道。然后，我灵机一动， “我想的是海中的一座花园。”
"It's not in the middle of the sea; you can't see the water. "
“这里不在海中央，你看不见水。”
I stared a moment, wondering whether she wished to convict me of fraud. "Can't see the water? Why, dear madam, I can come up to the very gate in my boat. "
我一时傻眼，不知道她是不是想证明我在说谎。 “看不见水吗？怎么会！亲爱的夫人，我坐船就可以到门口啊。”
She appeared inconsequent, for she said vaguely in reply to this, "Yes, if you have got a boat. I haven't any; it's many years since I have been in one of the gondolas. " She uttered these words as if the gondolas were a curious faraway craft which she knew only by hearsay.
她看起来有点儿跑题了，因为她含糊地回应说： “对，如果你有船的话。可我没有船。上次坐平底小船已经是很多年以前了。” 她讲这些话的样子，就好像平底小船是一种遥远新奇的交通工具，她只是有所耳闻一样。
"Let me assure you of the pleasure with which I would put mine at your service! " I exclaimed.
“请你相信，我非常荣幸可以让我的平底小船为你服务！” 我大声地说。
I had scarcely said this, however, before I became aware that the speech was in questionable taste and might also do me the injury of making me appear too eager, too possessed of a hidden motive.
但是，话一出口我就意识到，我说的话令人生疑，还可能对我不利，让我显得过于殷勤，太像隐藏了什么动机似的。
But the old woman remained impenetrable and her attitude bothered me by suggesting that she had a fuller vision of me than I had of her. She gave me no thanks for my somewhat extravagant offer but remarked that the lady I had seen the day before was her niece; she would presently come in. She had asked her to stay away a little on purpose, because she herself wished to see me at first alone.
但这位老妇人仍旧深不可测，她的态度扰乱了我，暗示着她对我有更为全盘的认识，胜过我对她了解。她没有对我刚才那番多少显得有点儿过头的提议表示感谢，而是说，昨天和我见面的那位女士是她的侄女，她很快就会进来。她故意让她在外面呆一会儿，因为她本人想先和我单独见一面。
She relapsed into silence, and I asked myself why she had judged this necessary and what was coming yet; also whether I might venture on some judicious remark in praise of her companion.
她又沉默不语了。我问自己，她为什么认为有这个必要，接下来又会发生什么事情，还有，我到底该不该说些适合的话称赞她的侄女。
I went so far as to say that I should be delighted to see her again: she had been so very courteous to me, considering how odd she must have thought me—a declaration which drew from Miss Bordereau another of her whimsical speeches.
我居然说，我很高兴再见到她：她一定认为我非常古怪，鉴于这一点，她对我算是非常客气的——这个说法又引出博尔德罗小姐的怪谈来。
"She has very good manners; I bred her up myself! " I was on the point of saying that that accounted for the easy grace of the niece, but I arrested myself in time, and the next moment the old woman went on: "I don't care who you may be—I don't want to know; it signifies very little today. "
“她很有礼数。我一手把她带大的！” 我差点脱口而出，说难怪那位侄女这么从容优雅，但我还是及时管住了自己。然后，这个老妇人继续说道： “我不在乎你会是谁——我也不想知道。如今，这一点也不重要。”
This had all the air of being a formula of dismissal, as if her next words would be that I might take myself off now that she had had the amusement of looking on the face of such a monster of indiscretion. Therefore I was all the more surprised when she added, with her soft, venerable quaver, "You may have as many rooms as you like—if you will pay a good deal of money. "
这种气氛让人感觉像是一种送客的程式，仿佛她下一句话就是让我自行离开，因为她已经瞧过了一个轻率的怪物的样子，已经消遣够了。因此，当听到她用她虚弱柔软的颤音往下说的时候，我更加惊讶了。她说： “你想要几间房都可以——只要你付一大笔钱。”
I hesitated but for a single instant, long enough to ask myself what she meant in particular by this condition. First it struck me that she must have really a large sum in her mind; then I reasoned quickly that her idea of a large sum would probably not correspond to my own. My deliberation, I think, was not so visible as to diminish the promptitude with which I replied, "I will pay with pleasure and of course in advance whatever you may think is proper to ask me. "
我只犹豫了片刻，便足够思考她提出这个条件到底是什么意思。我最开始认为，她心里真的有一笔大数目。然后我很快推断，她的大数目和我的大数目可能并不一样。我的考虑，我认为，还没有明显到影响我的快速反应。我回答： “我乐意支付，而且当然是预先付款，你觉得合适，就尽管开口。”
"Well then, a thousand francs a month, " she rejoined instantly, while her baffling green shade continued to cover her attitude.
“那好，一千法郎一个月。” 她马上答道。她那令人迷惑的绿罩子依旧掩盖了她的态度。
The figure, as they say, was startling and my logic had been at fault. The sum she had mentioned was, by the Venetian measure of such matters, exceedingly large; there was many an old palace in an out—of—the—way corner that I might on such terms have enjoyed by the year.
这个数字，正如他人所说，是惊人的。我的推理出错了。她提出的这个数目，用威尼斯的这类标准来衡量的话，高得离谱。这里有很多在这样偏远的角落里的古宅，租这样的房子，同样的钱可以住一年。
But so far as my small means allowed I was prepared to spend money, and my decision was quickly taken. I would pay her with a smiling face what she asked, but in that case I would give myself the compensation of extracting the papers from her for nothing. Moreover if she had asked five times as much I should have risen to the occasion; so odious would it have appeared to me to stand chaffering with Aspern's Juliana.
但是，只要我经济条件允许，我是打算要花这个钱的，于是我很快下了决心。我会笑容满面地支付她的要价，但如此一来，我要分文不花地从她那里拿到文稿，作为补偿。况且，就算她的要价是现在的五倍，我还是会答应。我很反感同阿斯本的朱莉安娜讨价还价。
It was queer enough to have a question of money with her at all. I assured her that her views perfectly met my own and that on the morrow I should have the pleasure of putting three months' rent into her hand. She received this announcement with serenity and with no apparent sense that after all it would be becoming of her to say that I ought to see the rooms first. This did not occur to her and indeed her serenity was mainly what I wanted.
和她争论钱的问题，这就已经够奇怪的了。我请她放心，她的想法和我不谋而合，明天我会很乐意把三个月的租金交到她手上。她平静地听我讲完。她并没有清楚地意识到，她毕竟应该先让我看看房间。她没有想到这些。事实上，她的安静正是我最想要的。
Our little bargain was just concluded when the door opened and the younger lady appeared on the threshold. As soon as Miss Bordereau saw her niece she cried out almost gaily, "He will give three thousand—three thousand tomorrow! "
我们的生意刚谈完，门就打开了，年轻一点儿的那位女士出现在门口。博尔德罗小姐一看见她的侄女，就几乎是很快乐地喊道： “他愿意给三千——明天就给三千！”
Miss Tita stood still, with her patient eyes turning from one of us to the other; then she inquired, scarcely above her breath, "Do you mean francs? "
蒂塔小姐定在那里，眼神很有耐性地在我们两人身上转来转去。然后她语气平静地问道： “你是说法郎？”
"Did you mean francs or dollars? " the old woman asked of me at this.
“你是说法郎还是美元？” 这个老妇人问我。
"I think francs were what you said, " I answered, smiling.
“我想，你说的是法郎。” 我微笑着回答道。
"That is very good, " said Miss Tita, as if she had become conscious that her own question might have looked overreaching.
“很好。” 蒂塔小姐说道，似乎意识到自己的问题显得有点儿过分。
"What do YOU know? You are ignorant, " Miss Bordereau remarked; not with acerbity but with a strange, soft coldness.
“你知道什么？你什么都不知道。” 博尔德罗小姐说。语气不算尖酸，但带有一种奇怪的、些许冷漠的意味。
"Yes, of money—certainly of money! " Miss Tita hastened to exclaim.
“是的，有关钱——我的确不懂货币！” 蒂塔小姐马上承认。
"I am sure you have your own branches of knowledge, " I took the liberty of saying, genially. There was something painful to me, somehow, in the turn the conversation had taken, in the discussion of the rent.
“我相信你一定有拿手的方面。” 我冒昧但温和地说。不知何故，话题转向讨论我的租金问题，我觉得有点儿痛苦。
"She had a very good education when she was young. I looked into that myself, " said Miss Bordereau. Then she added, "But she has learned nothing since. "
“她年轻的时候接受了很好的教育。我那时亲自负责。” 博尔德罗小姐说。然后她又说： “但从那以后，她什么也没有学到。”
"I have always been with you, " Miss Tita rejoined very mildly, and evidently with no intention of making an epigram.
“我一直和你在一起。” 蒂塔小姐反驳，语气非常轻柔，很明显不想把话说得太重。
"Yes, but for that! " her aunt declared with more satirical force. She evidently meant that but for this her niece would never have got on at all; the point of the observation however being lost on Miss Tita, though she blushed at hearing her history revealed to a stranger. Miss Bordereau went on, addressing herself to me: "And what time will you come tomorrow with the money? "
“是啊，如果不是这个原因的话！” 她的姑妈讽刺意味加重了。她明显是说，如果不是这样，她的侄女一定不会有所发展。虽然，当听见自己的故事被透露给一个陌生人，蒂塔小姐的脸红了起来，她却没有领会到姑妈说的这一点。博尔德罗小姐接着对我说： “明天你什么时候拿钱来？”
"The sooner the better. If it suits you I will come at noon. "
“越快越好。你觉得合适的话，我中午就会来。”
"I am always here but I have my hours, " said the old woman, as if her convenience were not to be taken for granted.
“我一直都在，但时间上也有要求。” 这个老妇说道，别人似乎不可以想当然地打扰她似的。
"You mean the times when you receive? "
“你是说你待客的时间？”
"I never receive. But I will see you at noon, when you come with the money. "
“我从不待客。但是中午你带钱来的时候，我会同你见面。”
"Very good, I shall be punctual; " and I added, "May I shake hands with you, on our contract? " I thought there ought to be some little form, it would make me really feel easier, for I foresaw that there would be no other.
“太好了，我一定准时到，” 我又说， “我可以跟你握手，为我们的约定握手吗？” 我认为应该有点儿小仪式，能让我自在一点儿。而且我也想不到其他的方式了。
Besides, though Miss Bordereau could not today be called personally attractive and there was something even in her wasted antiquity that bade one stand at one's distance, I felt an irresistible desire to hold in my own for a moment the hand that Jeffrey Aspern had pressed.
另外，虽然今天的博尔德罗小姐不能说有什么个人魅力，甚至这行将就木的老人还有种拒人千里的姿态，我还是感觉到不可抗拒的欲望，想要用我的手握一下杰弗里·阿斯本曾经紧握的手。
For a minute she made no answer, and I saw that my proposal failed to meet with her approbation. She indulged in no movement of withdrawal, which I half—expected; she only said coldly, "I belong to a time when that was not the custom. "
过了一阵，她没有回答，我知道自己的提议没有获得她的许可。她并没有做出离开的动作，我料到了一半。她只是冷冷地说： “我那个年代没有这样的礼节。”
I felt rather snubbed but I exclaimed good humoredly to Miss Tita, "Oh, you will do as well! " I shook hands with her while she replied, with a small flutter, "Yes, yes, to show it's all arranged! "
我有点儿受挫，但还是很幽默地对蒂塔小姐说： “那么，你和我握手也一样！” 我和她握手，她有一点儿受宠若惊地回应道： “是的，是的，表示一切安排妥当！”
"Shall you bring the money in gold? " Miss Bordereau demanded, as I was turning to the door.
“你是带金币来吗？” 在我转身朝门口走去的时候，博尔德罗小姐问道。
I looked at her for a moment. "Aren't you a little afraid, after all, of keeping such a sum as that in the house? " It was not that I was annoyed at her avidity but I was really struck with the disparity between such a treasure and such scanty means of guarding it.
我看了她一会儿。 “说到底，你是有点儿害怕在这宅子里有这么一大笔钱吧？” 不是我厌烦她的贪婪，而是我确实想到，这样一笔财富和如此欠缺的保护措施之间，差距是多么大。
"Whom should I be afraid of if I am not afraid of you? " she asked with her shrunken grimness.
“除了你，我会担心谁呢？” 她用她那萎缩却冷酷的语气问道。
"Ah well, " said I, laughing, "I shall be in point of fact a protector and I will bring gold if you prefer. "
“好吧，” 我笑着说， “实话实说，我会是个保护者。如果你喜欢，我会带金币来。”
"Thank you, " the old woman returned with dignity and with an inclination of her head which evidently signified that I might depart.
“谢谢！” 这个老妇人重新摆起了架子，点一下头，明白地示意我该离开了。
I passed out of the room, reflecting that it would not be easy to circumvent her. As I stood in the sala again I saw that Miss Tita had followed me, and I supposed that as her aunt had neglected to suggest that I should take a look at my quarters it was her purpose to repair the omission.
我出了房间，心想，要智取她可不容易。我在正厅停下来，看见蒂塔小姐跟着我。我还以为，她姑妈忘记让我看看自己的房间，所以她要出来弥补这个疏忽。
But she made no such suggestion; she only stood there with a dim, though not a languid smile, and with an effect of irresponsible, incompetent youth which was almost comically at variance with the faded facts of her person. She was not infirm, like her aunt, but she struck me as still more helpless, because her inefficiency was spiritual, which was not the case with Miss Bordereau's.
但她也没这样提议，她只是站在那里，脸上有一种模糊的，虽然说不上是憔悴的笑容。她看起来有一点儿年轻人那种不可靠、没能力的感觉，这种感觉和她本人衰老憔悴的真实情况不相配到了滑稽的程度。她不像她姑妈那样身体羸弱，但她给我的感觉却更加无助。因为她的不足是精神上的，而博尔德罗小姐却不是。
I waited to see if she would offer to show me the rest of the house, but I did not precipitate the question, inasmuch as my plan was from this moment to spend as much of my time as possible in her society.
我等着看她是否邀请我看看这房子的其他地方，但我没有冒昧地抛出这个问题，因为我的计划是，从这一刻开始，我要尽可能多花时间和她交往。
I only observed at the end of a minute: "I have had better fortune than I hoped. It was very kind of her to see me. Perhaps you said a good word for me. "
我过了一分钟才说： “我的运气比我希望的更好。她能见我，真是太好了。可能是因为你替我美言了几句。”
"It was the idea of the money, " said Miss Tita.
“其实是因为钱的关系。” 蒂塔小姐说。
"And did you suggest that? "
“是你提出来的么？”
"I told her that you would perhaps give a good deal. "
“我告诉她，你有可能会给很大一笔钱。”
"What made you think that? "
“你是怎么想到的？”
"I told her I thought you were rich. "
“我告诉她，我觉得你很富有。”
"And what put that idea into your head? "
“你为什么会这么想呢？”
"I don't know; the way you talked. "
“我不知道，可能是因为你讲话的方式吧。”
"Dear me, I must talk differently now, " I declared. "I 'm sorry to say it's not the case. "
“天哪，我现在一定要换换说话的方式了，” 我宣称， “很抱歉，实情不是这样的。”
"Well, " said Miss Tita, "I think that in Venice the forestieri, in general, often give a great deal for something that after all isn't much. "
“哦，” 蒂塔小姐说， “我想，在威尼斯，游客们总是为无足轻重的东西花很多钱。”
She appeared to make this remark with a comforting intention, to wish to remind me that if I had been extravagant I was not really foolishly singular. We walked together along the sala, and as I took its magnificent measure I said to her that I was afraid it would not form a part of my quartiere. Were my rooms by chance to be among those that opened into it?
她说这话，看起来是为了安慰我，提醒我，就算我铺张浪费，我也不是那傻傻的唯独一个。我们沿着客厅一起走着，我一边估量它的宏伟程度，一边对她说，恐怕我的住处不包括这里吧。我的房间是不是刚好开门就能进这个客厅呢？
"And I infer that that's where your aunt would like me to be. "
“我猜那是你姑妈要我住的地方吧。”
"She said your apartments ought to be very distinct. "
“她说你的房间是要分开的。”
"That certainly would be best. " And I listened with respect while she told me that up above I was free to take whatever I liked; that there was another staircase, but only from the floor on which we stood, and that to pass from it to the garden—story or to come up to my lodging I should have in effect to cross the great hall. This was an immense point gained; I foresaw that it would constitute my whole leverage in my relations with the two ladies.
“那最好不过了。” 我恭敬地听她告诉我，我可以随心所欲地带我喜欢的东西到楼上去。她告诉我，还有另外一个梯子，但只能从我们现在站的这层楼上去，如果我要下到有花园的那一层，或是要回到我寄宿的地方，就免不了要穿过正厅。这真是一大进步。我预计到，这将会成为我和这两位女士的关系的杠杆。
When I asked Miss Tita how I was to manage at present to find my way up she replied with an access of that sociable shyness which constantly marked her manner.
当我问蒂塔小姐，现在我要怎样上楼的时候，她回答时带着她与人交际时的害羞表情，这习惯性的表情常常出现。
"Perhaps you can't. I don't see—unless I should go with you. " She evidently had not thought of this before.
“也许你找不到。我不认为——除非我带你去。” 她之前明显没想过这一点。
We ascended to the upper floor and visited a long succession of empty rooms.
我们上了楼，看过了一长排空房间。
The best of them looked over the garden; some of the others had a view of the blue lagoon, above the opposite rough—tiled housetops. They were all dusty and even a little disfigured with long neglect, but I saw that by spending a few hundred francs I should be able to convert three or four of them into a convenient habitation.
最好的房间可以俯瞰花园，其他有些房间可以看见对面的粗瓦房顶上那蓝色的泻湖。这些房间满是灰尘，由于长期无人问津，甚至有点儿走样。但我觉得花个几百法郎，我应该可以把三四间屋子打理成舒适的居所。
My experiment was turning out costly, yet now that I had all but taken possession I ceased to allow this to trouble me. I mentioned to my companion a few of the things that I should put in, but she replied rather more precipitately than usual that I might do exactly what I liked; she seemed to wish to notify me that the Misses Bordereau would take no overt interest in my proceedings. I guessed that her aunt had instructed her to adopt this tone, and I may as well say now that I came afterward to distinguish perfectly (as I believed) between the speeches she made on her own responsibility and those the old lady imposed upon her.
我的试验是很昂贵的，但是，既然我除了拥有文稿，什么都不缺，我还是不允许自己为钱的事情烦恼。我向我的同伴提到几样我想要放进来的东西，但她异常突然地回应说，我想做什么都可以。她似乎想提醒我，博尔德罗小姐们对于我的举动没有什么明显的兴趣。我猜是她姑妈教她用这样的语气说话的。我可以顺便说一下，我后来就能清楚地区分（正如我深信的那样）哪些是她自己想说的话，哪些是那个老太太要她说的。
She took no notice of the unswept condition of the rooms and indulged in no explanations nor apologies.
她注意不到这些房间未经打扫的情况，也不费心解释或是致歉。
I said to myself that this was a sign that Juliana and her niece (disenchanting idea! ) were untidy persons, with a low Italian standard; but I afterward recognized that a lodger who had forced an entrance had no locus standi as a critic.
我告诉自己，这表明以较低的意大利标准来看，朱莉安娜和她的侄女（这样的想法可不迷人！）是不爱整洁的人。但我后来认识到，作为一个硬闯进来的房客，我没有资格批评他人。
We looked out of a good many windows, for there was nothing within the rooms to look at, and still I wanted to linger. I asked her what several different objects in the prospect might be, but in no case did she appear to know.
我们从很多扇窗户往外看，因为房间里面没什么可看的，但我还是想逗留。我问她我们看见的景色里的几件不寻常的事物是什么，但她没有一处说得上来。
She was evidently not familiar with the view—it was as if she had not looked at it for years—and I presently saw that she was too preoccupied with something else to pretend to care for it.
她很明显对这里的景色不熟悉——好像很多年都没有看过似的——我当下便看出，她正专注于其他的什么事情，根本没有装作在意这番风景。
Suddenly she said—the remark was not suggested:
突然，她说道——不是我问她才说的：
"I don't know whether it will make any difference to you, but the money is for me. "
“我不知道这对你来说是否重要，但这钱是给我的。”
"The money? "
“钱？”
"The money you are going to bring. "
“你将要带来的钱。”
"Why, you'll make me wish to stay here two or three years. " I spoke as benevolently as possible, though it had begun to act on my nerves that with these women so associated with Aspern the pecuniary question should constantly come back.
“哦，那你会让我想要在这里住个两三年。” 我说得尽可能仁慈，尽管我开始厌烦这些与阿斯本联系如此紧密的女人们不断和我讨论金钱的问题。
"That would be very good for me, " she replied, smiling.
“那对我来说很好。” 她回答，微笑着。
"You put me on my honor! "
“是你给我这个荣幸！”
She looked as if she failed to understand this, but went on: "She wants me to have more. She thinks she is going to die. "
她看起来没理解这意思，但继续说道： “她希望我能得到更多。她认为她快要死了。”
"Ah, not soon, I hope! " I exclaimed with genuine feeling.
“哦，我希望她能长寿！” 我说这话可是很诚恳的。
I had perfectly considered the possibility that she would destroy her papers on the day she should feel her end really approach.
我完全考虑过这种可能性，那就是，某一天，她要是觉得自己大限将至，她可能会毁了文稿。
I believed that she would cling to them till then, and I think I had an idea that she read Aspern's letters over every night or at least pressed them to her withered lips. I would have given a good deal to have a glimpse of the latter spectacle.
我相信，一直到那个时候，她都会留着文稿。我有个想法，认为她会每夜读一遍阿斯本的信，或是至少也要用自己干枯的嘴唇亲吻这些信件。为了看一眼后者这个画面，我愿意付出大代价。
I asked Miss Tita if the old lady were seriously ill, and she replied that she was only very tired—she had lived so very, very long. That was what she said herself—she wanted to die for a change. Besides, all her friends were dead long ago; either they ought to have remained or she ought to have gone. That was another thing her aunt often said—she was not at all content.
我问蒂塔小姐，老太太是不是病得很严重。她回答说，她只是累了——她活得太久太久了。这是她自己说的——她想死了，图个改变。再者，她的朋友们早都死了。不是他们还该活着，就是她已经该死了。那是她姑妈常说的另一件事——她一点儿都不开心。
"But people don't die when they like, do they? " Miss Tita inquired. I took the liberty of asking why, if there was actually enough money to maintain both of them, there would not be more than enough in case of her being left alone.
“可人们不是想死就会死的，不是吗？” 蒂塔小姐询问道。我冒昧地问她原因，如果真有一笔钱够两人的生活，那么她一个人的生活更是不成问题了。
She considered this difficult problem a moment and then she said, "Oh, well, you know, she takes care of me. She thinks that when I 'm alone I shall be a great fool, I shall not know how to manage. "
她一时觉得这个问题很棘手，于是，她说： “嗯，你知道，我是受她照顾的。她认为，我如果独自一人的话，一定是个傻瓜，我肯定不知道怎么理财。”
"I should have supposed that you took care of her. I 'm afraid she is very proud. "
“我早该猜到是你在照顾她。恐怕她是个很骄傲的人。”
"Why, have you discovered that already? " Miss Tita cried with the glimmer of an illumination in her face.
“啊，你已经发现了？” 蒂塔小姐叫道，脸上闪着光。
"I was shut up with her there for a considerable time, and she struck me, she interested me extremely. It didn't take me long to make my discovery. She won't have much to say to me while I 'm here. "
“我和她呆在一个房间里的时间相当长，她让我印象深刻，使我觉得很有意思。我很快就发现这一点了。我在这里的时候，她是不会和我多谈的。”
"No, I don't think she will, " my companion averred.
“是的，我认为她不会。” 我的同伴断言说。
"Do you suppose she has some suspicion of me? "
“你认为她对我有所怀疑？”
Miss Tita's honest eyes gave me no sign that I had touched a mark. "I shouldn't think so—letting you in after all so easily. "
蒂塔诚实的眼神没有让我看到任何信号，表明我触动到了什么。 “我觉得没有——毕竟你很轻易地就住进来了。”
"Oh, so easily! She has covered her risk. But where is it that one could take an advantage of her? "
“是，太容易了！她说自己这样做是冒险。但谁能占她什么便宜呢？”
"I oughtn't to tell you if I knew, ought I? " And Miss Tita added, before I had time to reply to this, smiling dolefully, "Do you think we have any weak points? "
“我就算知道了也不该告诉你，不是吗？” 在我还没有来得及回答之前，蒂塔小姐又苦笑着说： “你觉得我们有什么弱点吗？”
"That's exactly what I 'm asking. You would only have to mention them for me to respect them religiously. "
“我问的正是这个问题。你告诉我的话，我定会像信仰宗教一样地敬重它们。”
She looked at me, at this, with that air of timid but candid and even gratified curiosity with which she had confronted me from the first; and then she said, "There is nothing to tell. We are terribly quiet. I don't know how the days pass. We have no life. "
我这样说的时候，她看着我，带着一种初见时便对我产生的羞怯，坦诚，甚至是感激的好奇感。然后她说： “没什么可说的。我们极其安静。我不知道日子是怎么过的。我们没有人生。”
"I wish I might think that I should bring you a little. "
“我希望我可以为你带来一点点人生。”
"Oh, we know what we want, " she went on. "It's all right. "
“哦，我们知道我们想要什么，” 她继续说道， “没关系。”
There were various things I desired to ask her: how in the world they did live; whether they had any friends or visitors, any relations in America or in other countries. But I judged such an inquiry would be premature; I must leave it to a later chance. "Well, don't YOU be proud, " I contented myself with saying. "Don't hide from me altogether. "
有很多事情我想问她：她们到底怎么生活？她们有朋友或访客吗？在美国或其他国家有亲戚吗？ “那，你不可以太骄傲，” 我还是忍不住说道， “不要总对我避而不见。”
"Oh, I must stay with my aunt, " she returned, without looking at me. And at the same moment, abruptly, without any ceremony of parting, she quitted me and disappeared, leaving me to make my own way downstairs.
“哦，我必须和我的姑妈呆在一起。” 她回答，不看我。同时，也不尽告别的礼数，她就突然离开我，消失了，留下我自己走下楼。
I remained a while longer, wandering about the bright desert (the sun was pouring in) of the old house, thinking the situation over on the spot. Not even the pattering little serva came to look after me, and I reflected that after all this treatment showed confidence.
我停留了一阵，在这明亮的沙漠般（太阳照进来了）的古宅里徘徊，当场考虑自己当前的情形。连那个跑上跑下的小侍女也没有来找我。我想，这个待遇毕竟表明了信任。