Almost before her misgiving at the news could find time to shape itself she took, under her companion's direction, two of the most beautiful of the Hamburghs in her arms, and followed the maid-servant, who had likewise taken two, to the adjacent mansion, which, though ornate and imposing, showed traces everywhere on this side that some occupant of its chambers could bend to the love of dumb creatures - feathers floating within view of the front, and hen-coops standing on the grass.
聽了女仆的話，苔絲疑慮叢生，但還沒有等到她回過味來，就按照女仆的指點(diǎn)抱起兩種最漂亮的漢堡雞，跟在也同樣抱著兩只雞的女仆后面，向附近的莊園走去；莊園雖然裝飾華麗、雄偉壯觀，但是種種跡象顯示，住在莊園里的人喜愛不會(huì)說話的動(dòng)物——莊園前面的空中雞毛飄飛，草地上也擺滿了雞寵。

In a sitting-room on the ground-floor, ensconced in an armchair with her back to the light, was the owner and mistress of the estate, a white haired woman of not more than sixty, or even less, wearing a large cap. She had the mobile face frequent in those whose sight has decayed by stages, has been laboriously striven after, and reluctantly let go, rather than the stagnant mien apparent in persons long sightless or born blind. Tess walked up to this lady with her feathered charges - one sitting on each arm.
在樓下一間起居室里，莊園的主人和主婦背對(duì)著亮光舒適地坐在一把扶手椅上，她是一個(gè)白發(fā)蒼蒼的老婦人，戴一頂大便帽，年齡不過六十歲，甚至不到六十歲。她的視力已經(jīng)逐漸衰退了，她對(duì)這一雙眼睛也曾經(jīng)作過巨大努力，后來才不大情愿地放棄了，這同那些失明多年或者生來就是瞎子的人明顯不同，因此她的臉經(jīng)常顯得很生動(dòng)。苔絲帶著她的雞走到老夫人的面前——她一只手上抱著一只雞。

'Ah, you are the young woman come to look after my birds?' said Mrs d'Urberville, recognizing a new footstep. 'I hope you will be kind to them. My bailiff tells me you are quite the proper person. Well, where are they? Ah, this is Strut! But he is hardly so lively today, is he? He is alarmed at being handled by a stranger, I suppose. And Phena too - yes, they are a little frightened - aren't you, dears? But they will soon get used to you.'
“啊，你就是那個(gè)來幫我照看雞的姑娘吧？”德貝維爾夫人聽見有一種新的腳步聲，嘴里說?！拔蚁Ｍ隳芎煤玫卣疹櫵鼈儭Ｎ业墓芗腋嬖V我說，你為我照看雞是最合適的人。好啦，我的雞在哪兒？哦，這是斯特拉特①！不過它今天不太活潑，是不是？我想因?yàn)槭且粋€(gè)陌生人帶它來，把它嚇著啦。鳳凰也一樣——對(duì)。它們都有點(diǎn)害怕——你們是不是有點(diǎn)兒害怕，我的寶貝？不過它們很快就會(huì)熟悉你的?！?/div>

While the old lady had been speaking Tess and the other maid, in obedience to her gestures, had placed the fowls severally in her lap, and she had felt them over from head to tail, examining their beaks, their combs, the manes of the cocks, their wings, and their claws. Her touch enabled her to recognize them in a moment, and to discover if a single feather were crippled or dragged. She handled their crops, and knew what they had eaten, and if too little or too much; her face enacting a vivid pantomime of the criticisms passing in her mind.
老夫人一邊說話，一邊打著手勢，苔絲就和另外那個(gè)女仆按照手勢把雞一個(gè)個(gè)放在老夫人的膝上。老夫人用手從頭到尾地摸它們，檢查它們的嘴、雞冠、翅膀、爪子和公雞的頸毛。她通過觸摸能夠立即認(rèn)出這些雞來，知道它們是不是有一根羽毛折斷了，弄臟了。她用手摸摸它們的嗉子，就能知道它們是不是喂過食了，是吃得太多還是太少；她的臉表演的是一出生動(dòng)的啞劇，內(nèi)心流露的種種批評(píng)都從臉上顯現(xiàn)出來。

The birds that the two girls had brought in were duly returned to the yard, and the process was repeated till all the pet cocks and hens had been submitted to the old woman - Hamburghs, Bantams, Cochins, Brahmas, Dorkings, and such other sorts as were in fashion just then - her perception of each visitor being seldom at fault as she received the bird upon her knees.
兩個(gè)姑娘把帶來的雞一只只送回院子，不斷重復(fù)著帶來送去的程序，一只又一只地把老夫人所寵愛的公雞和母雞送到她的面前——如漢堡雞、短腳雞、交趾雞、印度大種雞、多津雞，還有其它一些當(dāng)時(shí)流行的各種各樣的雞——當(dāng)每只雞放到老夫人的膝上時(shí)，她都能認(rèn)出來，而且?guī)缀鯖]有認(rèn)錯(cuò)的。