月亮和六便士 第五十八章(2)

 Not much more than a month later I was in London; 一个月零几天以后，我回到了伦敦。

and after I had arranged certain matters which claimed my immediate¹ attention, 我把几件亟待处理的事办好以后，

thinking Mrs. Strickland might like to hear what I knew of her husband's last years, I wrote to her. 想到思特里克兰德太太或许愿意知道一下她丈夫最后几年的情况，便给她写了一封信。

I had not seen her since long before the war, and I had to look out her address in the telephone-book. 从大战前很长一段日子我们就没有见面了，我不知道她这时住在什么地方，只好翻了一下电话簿才找到她的地址。

She made an appointment, and I went to the trim little house on Campden Hill which she now inhabited. 她在回信里约定了一个日子，到了那一天，我便到她在坎普登山的新居——一所很整齐的小房子——去登门造访。

She was by this time a woman of hard on sixty, but she bore her years well, and no one would have taken her for more than fifty. 这时思特里克兰德太太已经快六十岁了，但是她的相貌一点儿也不显老，谁也不会相信她是五十开外的人。

Her face, thin and not much lined, was of the sort that ages gracefully², 她的脸比较瘦，皱纹不多，是那种年龄很难刻上凿痕的面孔，

so that you thought in youth she must have been a much handsomer woman than in fact she was. 你会觉得年轻时她一定是个美人，比她实际相貌要漂亮得多。

Her hair, not yet very gray, was becomingly arranged, and her black gown was modish³. 她的头发没有完全灰白，梳理得恰合自己的身份，身上的黑色长衫样子非常时兴。

I remembered having heard that her sister, Mrs. MacAndrew, outliving her husband but a couple of years, had left money to Mrs. Strickland; 我仿佛听人说过，她的姐姐麦克安德鲁太太在丈夫死后几年也去世了，给思特里克兰德太太留下一笔钱。

and by the look of the house and the trim maid who opened the door I judged that it was a sum adequate to keep the widow in modest comfort. 从她现在的住房和给我们开门的使女的整齐利落的样子看，我猜想这笔钱是足够叫这位寡妇过着小康的日子的。

When I was ushered⁴ into the drawing-room I found that Mrs. Strickland had a visitor, 我被领进客厅以后才发现屋里还有一位客人。

and when I discovered who he was, I guessed that I had been asked to come at just that time not without intention. 当我了解了这位客人的身份以后，我猜想思特里克兰德太太约我在这个时间来，不是没有目的的。

The caller was Mr. Van Busche Taylor, an American, and Mrs. Strickland gave me particulars with a charming smile of apology to him. 这位来客是凡·布施·泰勒先生，一位美国人；思特里克兰德太太一边表示歉意地对他展露着可爱的笑容，一边详细地给我介绍他的情况。

1 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

2 gracefully   

ad.大大方方地；优美地

参考例句：

• She sank gracefully down onto a cushion at his feet. 她优雅地坐到他脚旁的垫子上。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line. 新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

3 modish   

adj.流行的，时髦的

参考例句：

• She is always crazy at modish things.她疯狂热爱流行物品。
• Rhoda's willowy figure,modish straw hat,and fuchsia gloves and shoes surprised Janice.罗达的苗条身材，时髦的草帽，紫红色的手套和鞋使杰妮丝有些惊讶。

4 ushered   

v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The secretary ushered me into his office. 秘书把我领进他的办公室。
• A round of parties ushered in the New Year. 一系列的晚会迎来了新年。 来自《简明英汉词典》