SIR WILLIAM staid only a week at Hunsford; but his visit was long enough to convince him of his daughter's being most comfortably settled, and of her possessing such a husband and such a neighbour as were not often met with. While Sir William was with them, Mr. Collins devoted his mornings to driving him out in his gig and shewing him the country; but when he went away, the whole family returned to their usual employments, and Elizabeth was thankful to find that they did not see more of her cousin by the alteration, for the chief of the time between breakfast and dinner was now passed by him either at work in the garden, or in reading and writing, and looking out of window in his own book room, which fronted the road. The room in which the ladies sat was backwards. Elizabeth at first had rather wondered that Charlotte should not prefer the dining parlour for common use; it was a better sized room, and had a pleasanter aspect; but she soon saw that her friend had an excellent reason for what she did, for Mr. Collins would undoubtedly have been much less in his own apartment, had they sat in one equally lively; and she gave Charlotte credit for the arrangement.
威廉爵士在漢斯福只待了一個(gè)星期,可是經(jīng)過了這一次短短的拜訪,他大可以為了:女兒嫁得極其稱心如意,而且有了這樣不可多得的丈夫和難能可貴的鄰居。威謙爵士在這兒作客的時(shí)候,柯林斯先生總是每天上午同他乘著雙輪馬車,帶他到郊野去漫游;他走了以后,家里又恢復(fù)了日常生活。伊麗莎白真要謝天謝地。因?yàn)檫@一次作客,跟她表兄柯林斯朝夕相見的次數(shù)并不多。原來他從吃早飯到吃午飯那一段時(shí)間里,不是在收拾花園,就是在自己那間面臨著大路的書房里看書寫字,憑窗遠(yuǎn)眺,而女客的起坐間又在后面那一間。伊麗莎白開頭很奇怪:這里的餐廳比較大,地位光線也比較好,為什么夏綠蒂不愿意把餐廳兼作起居室?可是她立刻看出了她朋友所以要這樣做,的確非常有理由,因?yàn)椋杭偃缗鸵苍谝婚g同樣舒適的起坐間里,那么柯林斯先生待在自己房間里的時(shí)間就要比較少了;她很贊賞夏綠蒂這樣的按排。

From the drawing room they could distinguish nothing in the lane, and were indebted to Mr. Collins for the knowledge of what carriages went along, and how often especially Miss De Bourgh drove by in her phaeton, which he never failed coming to inform them of, though it happened almost every day. She not unfrequently stopped at the Parsonage, and had a few minutes' conversation with Charlotte, but was scarcely ever prevailed on to get out.
她們從會(huì)客室里根本看不見外面大路的情形,幸虧每逢有什么車輛駛過,柯林斯先生總是要告訴她們;特別是德·包爾小姐常常乘著小馬車駛過,差不多天天駛過,他沒有哪一次不告訴她們的。小姐常在牧師的門前停下車來,跟夏綠蒂閑談幾分鐘,可是主人從來不請她下車。

Very few days passed in which Mr. Collins did not walk to Rosings, and not many in which his wife did not think it necessary to go likewise; and till Elizabeth recollected that there might be other family livings to be disposed of, she could not understand the sacrifice of so many hours. Now and then, they were honoured with a call from her ladyship, and nothing escaped her observation that was passing in the room during these visits. She examined into their employments, looked at their work, and advised them to do it differently; found fault with the arrangement of the furniture, or detected the housemaid in negligence; and if she accepted any refreshment, seemed to do it only for the sake of finding out that Mrs. Collins's joints of meat were too large for her family.
柯林斯先生差不多每天要到羅新斯去一趟,他的太太也是隔不了幾天就要去一次。伊麗莎白總以為他們還有些別的應(yīng)得的俸祿要去處理一下,否則她就不懂得為什么要犧牲那么多的時(shí)間。有時(shí)候夫人也會(huì)光臨他們的住宅,來了以后就把屋子里無論什么事都看在眼里。她查問他們的日常生活,察看他們的家務(wù),勸他們換個(gè)方式處置;又吹毛求疵地說,他們的家具擺得不對,或者是他們的傭人在偷懶;要是她肯在這里吃點(diǎn)東西,那好象只是為了要看看柯林斯太太是否持家節(jié)儉,不濫吃濫用。

Elizabeth soon perceived that though this great lady was not in the commission of the peace for the county, she was a most active magistrate in her own parish, the minutest concerns of which were carried to her by Mr. Collins; and whenever any of the cottagers were disposed to be quarrelsome, discontented or too poor, she sallied forth into the village to settle their differences, silence their complaints, and scold them into harmony and plenty.
伊麗莎白立刻就發(fā)覺,這位貴婦人雖然沒有擔(dān)任郡里的司法職使,可是事實(shí)上她等于是她自己這個(gè)教區(qū)里最積極的法官,一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)芝麻大的事都由柯林斯先生報(bào)告給她;只要哪一個(gè)窮苦人在吵架,鬧意氣,或是窮得活不下去,她問題親自到村里去調(diào)解處理,鎮(zhèn)壓制服,又罵得他們一個(gè)個(gè)相安無事,不再叫苦嘆窮。

The entertainment of dining at Rosings was repeated about twice a week; and, allowing for the loss of Sir William, and there being only one card table in the evening, every such entertainment was the counterpart of the first. Their other engagements were few; as the style of living of the neighbourhood in general was beyond the Collins' reach. This, however, was no evil to Elizabeth, and upon the whole she spent her time comfortably enough; there were half hours of pleasant conversation with Charlotte, and the weather was so fine for the time of year, that she had often great enjoyment out of doors. Her favourite walk, and where she frequently went while the others were calling on Lady Catherine, was along the open grove which edged that side of the park, where there was a nice sheltered path, which no one seemed to value but herself, and where she felt beyond the reach of Lady Catherine's curiosity.
羅新斯大約每星期要請她們吃一兩次飯;盡管缺少了威廉爵士,而且只有一桌牌,不過每有一次這樣的宴會(huì),都依照第一次如法炮制。他們簡直沒有別的宴會(huì),因?yàn)楦浇话闳思业哪欠N生活派頭,柯林斯還高攀不上。不過伊麗莎白并不覺得遺憾,因?yàn)樗谶@里大體上是過得夠舒服了:經(jīng)常和夏綠蒂作半個(gè)鐘點(diǎn)的交談,加上這個(gè)季節(jié)里又是天氣睛朗,可以常常到戶外去舒暢一下。別人去拜訪咖苔琳夫人的時(shí)候,她總是愛到花園旁邊那座小林子里去散散步,那兒有一條很美的綠蔭小徑,她覺得那地方只有她一人懂得欣賞,而且到了那兒,也就可以免得惹起咖苔琳夫人的好奇心。