1、纽约的陌生人

1A STRANGER IN NEW YORK
1纽约的陌生人

When Newland Archer arrived at the New York Academy of Music, one January evening in the early 1870s, the opera had already begun. There was no reason why the young man should not have come earlier. He had had dinner at seven, alone with his mother and sister, and then sat unhurriedly smoking his cigar in his private library. But fashionable young men did not arrive early at the opera. That was one of the unwritten rules of society, and in Newland Archer’s New York these rules were as important as life and death.

十九世纪七十年代的一个一月夜晚，纽兰·阿切尔抵达纽约音乐学院时，歌剧已经开演了。年轻人本没有理由不早点到。他七点和母亲、妹妹独自吃过晚饭，随后不慌不忙地坐在自己的私人书房里抽雪茄。然而，时髦的年轻人不会早早来到歌剧院。这是社交界不成文的规矩，而在纽兰·阿切尔的纽约，这些规矩和生死一样重要。

Another reason for the young man’s delay was that he enjoyed looking forward to pleasures just as much as actually experiencing them, and Gounod’s Faust was one of his favourite operas. As he opened the door at the back of his box, he felt he had chosen just the right moment to arrive. Christine Nilsson, the Swedish singer whom all New York had gathered to hear, was singing, ‘He loves me – he loves me not – he loves me!’

年轻人迟到还有另一个原因。他喜欢期待快乐的过程，程度不亚于真正享受快乐，而古诺的《浮士德》正是他最喜欢的歌剧之一。当他打开包厢后方的门时，觉得自己选准了抵达的时机。全纽约人聚集在这里要听的瑞典歌唱家克里斯蒂娜·尼尔松正在唱道：“他爱我——他不爱我——他爱我！”

She sang in Italian, of course, not in English, since an unquestioned law of the musical world demanded that the German words of French operas sung by Swedish singers should be translated into Italian, for the clearer understanding of English-speaking audiences. This seemed as natural to Newland as all the other laws that governed his life, like never appearing in society without a flower in his buttonhole, and having two silver-backed brushes for his hair.

当然，她唱的是意大利语，不是英语，因为音乐界有一条无人质疑的规矩：瑞典歌手演唱法国歌剧时，歌剧中的德语歌词必须译成意大利语，好让说英语的观众更清楚地理解。这对纽兰来说和支配他生活的其他规矩一样自然，比如纽扣孔里从不缺一朵花，头发也总要用两把银背发刷来梳理。

He turned his eyes away from the singer and looked at the audience. Directly opposite him was the box of old Mrs Manson Mingott, who was now so fat that she was unable to attend the opera, but whose family often came on fashionable nights. Tonight the front of the box was filled by her daughter-in-law, Mrs Lovell Mingott, and her daughter, Mrs Welland. A little behind these ladies in their heavy silks sat a young girl in white, with her eyes fixed on the singer. As Madame Nilsson’s voice rose above the silent audience (the boxes always stopped talking during this song), a warm pink spread over the girl’s face and shoulders, right down to the top of her evening dress. She dropped her eyes to the enormous bunch of white flowers on her knee, and touched them gently.

他把目光从歌手身上移开，望向观众。正对着他的是曼森·明戈特老太太的包厢。她如今胖得无法再去看歌剧，但她的家人常在时髦之夜出席。今晚，包厢前排坐着她的儿媳洛弗尔·明戈特夫人和她的女儿韦兰德夫人。两位女士身后稍远处，坐着一个身穿白衣的年轻姑娘，目光牢牢盯着歌手。当尼尔松夫人的声音升过寂静的观众席时（这首歌唱起时，各包厢总会停止交谈），一阵温热的粉红色从姑娘的脸庞蔓延到肩头，一直延伸到晚礼服的领口。她垂下眼睛，望向膝上那一大束白花，轻轻抚摸着它们。

Newland recognized his gift to her, and was pleased. ‘The dear girl!’ he thought. ‘She has no idea what this opera is all about.’ He watched her face, thinking fondly of her simple innocence. It would be his manly duty and pleasure to educate her. ‘We’ll read all the great books together, by the Italian lakes…’

纽兰认出那是自己送给她的花，心里很高兴。“可爱的姑娘！”他想，“她一点也不知道这部歌剧究竟在讲什么。”他带着温柔的心情注视着她的脸，想着她朴素的天真。他觉得，教导她是自己的男子气概所要求的责任，也是自己的乐趣。“我们要一起读完所有伟大的书，去意大利的湖区……”

It was only that afternoon that May Welland had let him know she ‘cared’ (the word that nice New York girls used to confess their love). Already his imagination, jumping ahead of the engagement ring, the first kiss, and the wedding, showed her at his side, sharing his interests as they travelled round the ancient places of Europe together.

就在那天下午，梅·韦兰德让他知道她“在乎”他（这是纽约那些体面的姑娘用来表白爱意的词）。他的想象已经跳过订婚戒指、初吻和婚礼，预见到她将站在自己身边；他们一起周游欧洲的古老城市，共享彼此的兴趣。

He did not want the future Mrs Newland Archer to remain a simple, innocent girl. He intended that, with his help, she would become a social success among the married women of his circle, confident in any situation, always able to make clever and amusing conversation. If he had looked deep within himself (as he sometimes nearly did), he would have found there the wish that his wife should have the same social experience and eagerness to please as the married lady whose company he had enjoyed for two quite pleasant years.

他不希望未来的纽兰·阿切尔夫人一直是个简单而天真的姑娘。他打算在自己的帮助下，让她在自己交往的已婚女性中成为社交上的成功者，无论身处什么场合都充满自信，总能谈吐机智而风趣。如果他曾深入审视过自己的内心（有时他几乎会这样做），就会发现自己希望妻子拥有和那位已婚女士同样的社交经验与取悦他人的热切，而他已经享受了与那位女士相处的两个十分愉快的年头。

How this wonderful being of fire and ice was to be created, he had never taken the time to consider. He knew his views on women were shared by all the carefully dressed, buttonhole-flowered men who greeted him from their boxes or visited him in his own, and he did not see a need to think differently.

这种冰与火交融的奇妙人物究竟要如何塑造，他从未花时间思考过。他知道，所有那些从包厢里向他打招呼、或到他的包厢来拜访的衣着讲究、纽扣孔插花的男人，都和他持有同样的女性观；他看不出自己有必要另想一套。

‘My God!’ said Lawrence Lefferts suddenly. He was one of the group of Newland’s friends in the box – a man who knew more about ‘form’ than anyone else in New York. He always knew what was, or was not, socially correct behaviour, and he always had the answers to all the mysterious questions, such as when a black tie should or should not be worn.

“我的天！”劳伦斯·莱弗茨突然说道。他是纽兰朋友中的一员，和纽兰同在一个包厢里——在纽约没有人比他更懂“规矩”。什么行为在社交上得体、什么不得体，他总是了如指掌；那些神秘问题的答案他也一清二楚，比如什么时候该打黑领带、什么时候不该打。

‘Look!’ he added, handing his opera-glasses to his old friend Sillerton Jackson, who was standing next to him.

“看！”他补充道，一边把歌剧望远镜递给站在身旁的老朋友西勒顿·杰克逊。

Newland saw with surprise that a new figure had entered old Mrs Mingott’s box. It was that of a young woman, a little less tall than May Welland, with curly brown hair and a dark blue, unusually low-cut evening dress. Sillerton Jackson returned the opera-glasses to Lawrence Lefferts, and the young men in the box waited eagerly to hear what old Mr Jackson had to say, since he knew as much about ‘family’ as Mr Lefferts knew about ‘form’. He also knew the details of all the scandals and mysteries that had lain under New York’s calm surface for the last fifty years. There was a moment’s silence. Then Sillerton Jackson said simply, ‘I didn’t think the Mingotts would have attempted that.’ Newland felt annoyed that the box which was the centre of attention for so many men was the one in which his fiancée was sitting, and he could not at first imagine why the newcomer was creating such excitement. Then he remembered who she was, and immediately felt even more annoyed. No, indeed, no one would have thought the Mingotts would have attempted that!

纽兰惊讶地看到，一个新的身影走进了明戈特老太太的包厢。那是一个年轻女子，比梅·韦兰德略矮一些，有一头卷曲的棕发，穿着深蓝色、领口低得出奇的晚礼服。西勒顿·杰克逊把歌剧望远镜还给劳伦斯·莱弗茨，包厢里的年轻人热切地等着听老杰克逊会说些什么，因为莱弗茨懂“规矩”有多深，杰克逊就懂“家世”有多深。他还知道过去五十年间，纽约平静表面下隐藏的所有丑闻与秘密。片刻的沉默后，西勒顿·杰克逊简短地说：“我没想到明戈特家竟会做出这种事。”纽兰感到恼火，因为那个吸引了众多男人目光的包厢，正是自己的未婚妻所在的包厢；起初，他无法想象新来者为什么会引起如此大的骚动。随后他想起了她是谁，立刻更加恼火。不，确实没人会想到明戈特家竟会做出这种事！

He was in no doubt that the young woman was May Welland’s cousin, whom the family always spoke of as ‘poor Ellen Olenska’. He knew that she had suddenly arrived from Europe a day or two previously, and he had heard from May that she herself had been to see poor Ellen, who was staying with her grandmother, old Mrs Mingott. There was nothing mean or ungenerous in the young man’s heart, and he was glad that his future wife was being kind (in private) to her unhappy cousin. But to welcome Countess Olenska into the family circle was a very different thing from producing her in society, at the opera, of all places, and in the very box with the young girl whose engagement to him, Newland Archer, was to be announced within a few weeks.

他毫不怀疑，这个年轻女子就是梅·韦兰德的表姐，家里人总称她为“可怜的埃伦·奥伦斯卡”。他知道她一两天前突然从欧洲回来，也听梅说过，梅亲自去看望过可怜的埃伦；埃伦当时住在她外祖母明戈特老太太家。年轻人的心里没有一丝刻薄或吝啬，他很高兴自己的未来妻子私下里对这位不幸的表姐表现得很体贴。但把奥伦斯卡伯爵夫人迎进家族圈子，和把她带到社交场合亮相，尤其是在歌剧院、并且就在那个与纽兰·阿切尔的订婚将在几周内宣布的年轻姑娘所在的包厢里，完全是两回事。

Of course, he knew that old Mrs Mingott was as socially daring as any man in New York. In spite of having no beauty or family connections, she had made an excellent marriage when quite young, and had become extremely wealthy when her husband died. Since then she had done exactly what she wanted, and made sure that all her children and grandchildren, not to mention half of New York, obeyed her orders.

当然，他知道明戈特老太太在社交上和纽约任何男人一样大胆。她既没有美貌，也没有家族关系，却在很年轻时就嫁得很好；丈夫去世后，她又变得极其富有。从那以后，她想做什么就做什么，还确保自己的所有子女和孙辈——更不用说纽约半数的人了——都服从她的命令。

As he was thinking, Newland suddenly became aware of the conversation going on around him in his box.

正当纽兰思索时，他突然注意到包厢四周正在进行的谈话。

‘After all,’ a young man was saying, ‘just what happened?’

“说到底，”一个年轻人说，“究竟发生了什么？”

‘Well – she left him. Nobody tries to say she didn’t,’ someone replied.

“嗯——她离开了他。这一点没人想否认。”有人回答。

‘But her husband, this Polish Count,’ said the young man, ‘he’s an awful man, isn’t he?’

“可是她的丈夫，那个波兰伯爵，”年轻人说，“他是个很糟糕的人，对吧？”

‘The very worst type,’ said Lawrence Lefferts. ‘I knew him in France. Rather handsome. When he isn’t with women, he collects paintings. Pays any price for both, I understand.’

“最糟糕的那一类。”劳伦斯·莱弗茨说，“我在法国见过他。长得还算英俊。他不跟女人厮混时，就收集画作。我听说，他在这两样东西上都愿意付任何价钱。”

There was a general laugh. Lefferts continued, ‘Anyway, she ran off with his secretary. It didn’t last long. I believe her uncle, Lovell Mingott, went to bring her back – she was living alone in Venice. He said she was desperately unhappy. That’s all right – but bringing her to the opera’s another thing.’

众人一阵大笑。莱弗茨继续说道：“总之，她和他的秘书私奔了。没过多久就结束了。我想她的舅舅洛弗尔·明戈特去把她带了回来——当时她独自住在威尼斯。他说她非常不幸。那倒没什么——但把她带到歌剧院来就是另一回事了。”

‘It’s strange that they’ve brought Miss Welland along as well,’ whispered someone, with a sideways look at Newland.

“他们还把韦兰德小姐一起带来，真奇怪。”有人低声说道，同时斜眼看了看纽兰。

‘Oh, she’s here on Grandmother’s orders, no doubt, ‘Lefferts laughed. ‘The old lady has doubtless demanded the whole family’s support for the Countess.’

“哦，她当然是奉祖母之命来的。”莱弗茨笑道，“老太太大概要求全家都来支持伯爵夫人。”

Suddenly Newland felt he must be seen by his fiancée’s side, to inform the waiting world of his engagement to May Welland, and to help her through any difficulties caused by her cousin’s situation. He left his box and hurried round to old Mrs Mingott’s. As he entered, his eyes met May’s, and he saw she had immediately understood his reason for coming. People in their social circle never expressed their feelings in free and open discussion, and the fact that she and he understood each other without a word seemed, to the young man, to bring them closer than any explanation would have done. Her eyes said, ‘You see why I am here,’ and his answered, ‘I would not for the world have wanted you to stay away.’

纽兰突然觉得，自己必须让所有人看到他站在未婚妻身边，好向等待着的世界宣布他和梅·韦兰德订婚，也帮助她应对表姐的处境可能带来的任何麻烦。他离开自己的包厢，匆匆绕到明戈特老太太的包厢。走进去时，他的目光和梅相遇，立刻看出她明白他为何而来。他们这个社交圈的人从不公开坦率地表达感情；对这个年轻人而言，两人无需一言便彼此理解，似乎比任何解释都更能让他们亲近。她的眼神说：“你明白我为什么在这里。”他的眼神回答：“无论如何，我都不希望你缺席。”

‘You know my niece, Countess Olenska?’ Mrs Welland asked as she shook hands with her future son-in-law.

“你认识我的侄女奥伦斯卡伯爵夫人吧？”韦兰德夫人一边和未来的女婿握手，一边问道。

Newland greeted Ellen Olenska politely, and then sat down beside May. In a low voice he said, ‘I hope you’ve told Madame Olenska that we’re engaged? I want everybody to know – I want you to announce it this evening at the ball.’

纽兰礼貌地向埃伦·奥伦斯卡致意，然后在梅身边坐下。他压低声音说：“希望你已经告诉奥伦斯卡夫人我们订婚了？我希望每个人都知道——我希望你今晚在舞会上宣布这件事。”

May’s face turned pink, and she looked at him with shining eyes. ‘If you can persuade Mother,’ she said, ‘but why change the date we agreed for the announcement?’ She saw his answer in his eyes and added, smiling confidently now, ‘Tell my cousin yourself – I give you permission. She says you used to play together when you were children.’

梅的脸变得粉红，她用闪闪发亮的眼睛看着他。“如果你能说服母亲的话，”她说，“可我们为什么要改变原定的宣布日期？”她从他的眼神中看到了答案，于是现在自信地微笑着补充道：“你自己告诉我的表姐吧——我允许你这么做。她说你们小时候一起玩过。”

She made way for him by pushing back her chair, and Newland rose and seated himself at Countess Olenska’s side.

她把椅子向后一推，给他让出位置；纽兰站起身，坐到了奥伦斯卡伯爵夫人身旁。

s’We did use to play together, didn’t we?’ the Countess asked, turning her serious eyes to his. ‘You were a bad boy, and kissed me once behind a door.’ She looked out over the audience. ‘Ah, how this brings my childhood back to me – I see everybody here in short trousers and pretty little dresses,’ she added in her almost foreign accent, her eyes returning to his face.

“我们小时候确实一起玩过，对吧？”伯爵夫人问道，把严肃的目光转向他。“你那时是个坏孩子，还曾经在门后亲过我一次。”她向观众席望去。“啊，这让我想起了童年——我看见这里的每个人都穿着短裤，姑娘们都穿着漂亮的小裙子。”她用近乎外国人的口音补充道，目光又回到他的脸上。

The young man was shocked that she should make jokes about New York’s most important people, who were, at this moment, passing judgement on her. He answered a little stiffly, ‘Yes, you have been away a very long time.’

年轻人震惊了。她竟敢拿纽约最重要的人开玩笑，而此刻那些人正在评判她。他略显僵硬地回答：“是的，你离开这里已经很久了。”

‘Oh, centuries and centuries,’ she said, ‘so long that I’m sure I’m dead and buried, and this dear old place is heaven.’

“哦，几百年，几百年了。”她说，“久到我确信自己已经死了，也已经入土，而这个可爱的老地方就是天堂。”

And this, for reasons Newland could not explain, seemed an even less polite way of describing New York society.

而不知为什么，在纽兰看来，这种描述纽约社交界的方式似乎更加失礼。

That night most of New York was expected to attend the Beauforts’ ball. The Beauforts were one of the few families to own a house with a ballroom, and this fact helped New Yorkers to forget certain uncomfortable things about Julius Beaufort. The question was, who was Beaufort? He had arrived from nowhere to build up a fortune for himself in banking, but he was a man with bad habits, a bitter tongue and a mysterious past. Regina Beaufort, indeed, belonged to one of America’s oldest families. As a penniless young beauty, she had been introduced to New York society by her cousin, Medora Manson, and had made what people thought was a most foolish marriage to Julius Beaufort.

那天晚上，纽约大多数人都预计会出席博福特家的舞会。博福特家是少数拥有舞厅的家族之一，而这一事实帮助纽约人忘记朱利叶斯·博福特身上一些令人不舒服的事情。博福特是谁？他不知从何处来到纽约，靠银行业为自己积累财富；但他有着恶习、刻薄的舌头和神秘的过去。雷吉娜·博福特确实出身于美国最古老的家族之一。她年轻时是个身无分文的美人，由她的表亲梅多拉·曼森带入纽约社交界，后来嫁给朱利叶斯·博福特；在众人看来，那是一桩极其愚蠢的婚姻。

Foolish or not, only two years after her marriage, it was agreed that her house was the most luxurious and comfortable in New York. Growing younger and blonder and more beautiful each year, she was the queen of Beaufort’s palace, and drew all the world there without lifting her jewelled little finger. Some people whispered that it was Beaufort himself who trained all the servants, taught the cook new dishes, chose the plants for the gardens, and invited the guests. But to the world he gave the appearance of a carefree man of wealth, who just happened to be present at his wife’s brilliant parties.

不管愚蠢与否，结婚仅两年后，大家就一致认为她的宅邸是纽约最奢华、最舒适的住宅。她一年比一年显得年轻、金发而美丽，成为博福特宫殿的女王；不用抬起她那根戴满珠宝的小指，就能把全世界都吸引到那里。有些人私下说，真正训练所有仆人、教厨师做新菜、挑选花园植物并邀请宾客的其实是博福特本人。但在世人面前，他呈现出的却是一个无忧无虑、富有的男人，仿佛只是碰巧出现在妻子那场辉煌的宴会上。

Newland Archer arrived a little late at the ball, as fashionable young men usually did. He had been thinking hard during his walk from the opera. Now he was beginning to fear that the Mingotts might go too far – that, in fact, they might be under old Grandmother Mingott’s orders to bring Countess Olenska to the ball. That, thought Archer, would be a serious mistake.

纽兰·阿切尔到舞会上时稍微晚了一点，时髦的年轻人通常都这样。他从歌剧院走来的一路上一直在认真思考。现在他开始担心明戈特家会不会走得太远——事实上，他们可能奉明戈特老太太的命令，要把奥伦斯卡伯爵夫人带到舞会上来。阿切尔想，那将是一个严重的错误。

As he entered the ballroom, he could see Mrs Welland and her daughter standing opposite him. Surrounding May Welland was a small group of young men and girls, and from the handshaking, laughing and smiles, it was clear that she had announced her engagement. Newland paused a moment. He had wanted the announcement to be made, but he would have preferred it to be done at a quieter time, not in the heat and noise of a crowded ballroom. He was glad to see that May shared this feeling. Her eyes met his and their look said, ‘remember, we’re doing this because it’s right.’

走进舞厅时，他看到韦兰德夫人和她的女儿正站在对面。梅·韦兰德周围聚着一小群年轻男女，从握手、笑声和笑容来看，很明显她已经宣布了订婚。纽兰停了一会儿。他原本希望宣布订婚，但更愿意在安静些的时候宣布，而不是在拥挤舞厅的喧闹和热度中。他看出梅也有同样的感受，心里很欣慰。他们的目光相遇，彼此的眼神都在说：“记住，我们这样做是因为这是正确的。”

He made his way towards her, and after receiving warm congratulations from many of the group, he drew his fiancée into the middle of the dance floor and put his arm around her waist.

他朝她走去，在接受了那群人中许多人的热烈祝贺后，把未婚妻带到舞池中央，伸手搂住她的腰。

‘Now we won’t have to talk,’ he said, smiling into her clear eyes, as they started dancing. She made no answer, but her lips trembled into a smile. ‘Dear,’ whispered Newland, pressing her to him. What a new life it was going to be, with this whiteness, this beauty, this goodness at his side!

“现在我们不用说话了。”他们开始跳舞时，他笑着望进她清澈的眼睛。她没有回答，只是嘴唇颤动着露出微笑。“亲爱的。”纽兰低声说，把她拥得更紧。身边有这样的纯洁、这样的美丽、这样的善良，那将是怎样一种全新的生活啊！

When the dance was over, the couple sat down in a quiet corner, and Newland pressed her hand to his lips.

舞曲结束后，两人坐到一个安静的角落里，纽兰把她的手按到唇边。

‘You see, I made the announcement, as you asked me to,’ she said.

“你看，我按照你的要求宣布了。”她说。

‘Yes, I couldn’t wait,’ he answered, smiling. ‘Only I wish it didn’t have to be at a ball.’

“是的，我等不及了。”他笑着回答，“只是我真希望不用在舞会上宣布。”

‘Yes, I know.’ She looked at him intelligently. ‘But after all, even here we’re alone together, aren’t we?’

“是的，我知道。”她聪慧地看着他，“但说到底，即使在这里，我们也还是单独在一起，对吧？”

‘Oh, dearest – always!’ Newland cried.

“哦，最亲爱的——永远都是！”纽兰喊道。

Clearly she was always going to understand, she was always going to say the right thing. He continued happily, ‘The worst of it is that I want to kiss you and I can’t.’ But looking quickly round, he could see there was no one nearby, and so he placed a kiss lightly on her lips. She sat silent, and the world lay like a sunlit valley at their feet.

显然，她总会理解他，也总能说出恰当的话。他愉快地继续说道：“最糟糕的是，我想吻你，却不能吻。”但他迅速环顾四周，发现附近没有人，于是轻轻吻了吻她的嘴唇。她静静地坐着，整个世界仿佛阳光照耀的山谷，铺展在他们脚下。

‘Did you tell my cousin Ellen?’ she asked a moment later, in a dream-like voice.

“你告诉我的表姐埃伦了吗？”过了一会儿，她用梦呓般的声音问道。

He remembered that he had not wanted to speak of such things to the strange foreign woman, and had to lie. ‘I didn’t have the chance in the end.’

他想起自己不愿对那个陌生的外国女人谈这类事情，只好撒谎。“最后我没找到机会。”

‘Ah.’ She looked disappointed, but continued, ‘You must, because I didn’t either. She’s been away so long that she’s rather sensitive, and might feel hurt if we didn’t tell her.’

“啊。”她看起来有些失望，但继续说道：“你一定要告诉她，因为我也没有告诉她。她离开这里太久了，因此比较敏感；如果我们不告诉她，她可能会感到受伤。”

Newland looked at her lovingly. ‘Dearest! Of course I’ll tell her.’ He looked anxiously towards the crowded ballroom. ‘But I haven’t seen her yet. Has she come?’

纽兰深情地看着她。“亲爱的！当然，我会告诉她。”他焦急地望向拥挤的舞厅，“可我还没见到她。她来了吗？”

‘No, at the last minute she decided her dress wasn’t good enough for a ball, so she didn’t come.’

“没有，她在最后一刻觉得自己的裙子不够好，不适合参加舞会，所以没来。”

‘Oh, well,’ said Newland, secretly delighted. Nothing about his fiancée pleased him more than her determination not to see anything unpleasant, like the real reason for her cousin’s absence.

“哦，这样啊。”纽兰暗自欣喜。未婚妻最让他满意的一点，莫过于她决意不去看任何令人不快的事情，比如表姐缺席的真正原因。

During the next day Newland and May, with May’s mother, paid their first social visits as an engaged couple. At old Mrs Mingott’s house, they discovered that Countess Olenska was out. But just as their visit came to an end and they were preparing to leave, she returned, followed by the unexpected figure of Julius Beaufort. And in the hall, while May and her mother were putting on their coats, Newland realized that the Countess was looking at him with a questioning smile.

第二天，纽兰和梅在梅的母亲陪同下，以订婚情侣的身份第一次登门拜访亲友。他们到明戈特老太太家时，发现奥伦斯卡伯爵夫人外出了。但就在拜访即将结束、他们准备离开时，她回来了，身后跟着出人意料的朱利叶斯·博福特。而在门厅里，梅和她的母亲正穿上外套，纽兰意识到伯爵夫人正带着探询的微笑看着他。

‘Of course you know already – about May and me,’ he said to her, with a shy laugh. ‘I meant to tell you last night.’

“你当然已经知道了——关于梅和我的事。”他带着腼腆的笑对她说，“我本来打算昨晚告诉你的。”

The smile passed from Countess Olenska’s eyes to her lips; she looked younger, more like the playful Ellen Mingott of his boyhood. ‘Of course I know, yes. And I’m so glad.’ She held out her hand. ‘Goodbye. Come and see me some day,’ she added, still looking at Newland.

奥伦斯卡伯爵夫人的笑意从眼睛传到嘴唇；她看起来年轻了些，更像他童年时那个爱玩闹的埃伦·明戈特。“当然，我知道。是的，我非常高兴。”她伸出手，“再见。什么时候来看看我吧。”她补充道，目光仍停留在纽兰身上。

On their way home, none of them mentioned Ellen Olenska, but Newland knew Mrs Welland was thinking, ‘It’s a mistake for Ellen to be seen, so soon after her arrival, with Julius Beaufort.’ The young man himself was thinking, ‘And she ought to know that an engaged man doesn’t spend his time visiting married women. But perhaps that’s acceptable in the circles she’s been moving in.’ He thanked heaven he was a New Yorker, and about to marry one of his own kind.

回家的路上，他们谁也没有提到埃伦·奥伦斯卡，但纽兰知道韦兰德夫人正在想：“埃伦才刚回来，就和朱利叶斯·博福特一起露面，这是个错误。”年轻人自己则在想：“她也应该知道，一个订婚的男人不该把时间花在拜访已婚女人上。不过，也许她所处的圈子允许这样做。”他感谢上天让自己成为纽约人，而且即将娶一个和自己同类的女人。