'Ah! you are looking for the black-puddings, my dear boy,' observed Clare's mother. 'But I am sure you will not mind doing without them, as I am sure your father and I shall not, when you know the reason. I suggested to him that we should take Mrs Crick's kind present to the children of the man who can earn nothing just now because of his attacks of delirium tremens; and lie agreed that it would be a great pleasure to them; so we did.'
“啊！你是在找血腸吧，我親愛的孩子，”克萊爾的母親問?！安贿^，我想在你知道了理由以后，你不會在乎吃飯沒有血腸吧？我想你的父親和我都是不在乎的。我向你的父親提議，把克里克太太好意送來的禮物送給一個人的孩子們了，那人得了震顫性譫妄病，不能掙錢了；你父親同意了，認為他們會很高興的；所以我們就把血腸送給他們了。”

'Of course,' said Angel cheerfully, looking round for the mead.
“當然不會，”安琪爾快活地說，回頭去找蜜酒。

'I found the mead so extremely alcoholic,' continued his mother, 'that it was quite unfit for use as a beverage, but as valuable as rum or brandy in an emergency; so I have put it in my medicine-closet.'
“我嘗過了，那蜜酒的酒精含量太高，”他的母親接著說，“這種蜜酒作飲料是不合適的，不過有人生了急病，它倒和紅酒、白蘭地一樣地有效；所以，我把它收進我的藥柜里去了。”

'We never drink spirits at this table, on principle,' added his father.
“我們吃飯是從來不喝酒的，這是規(guī)矩，”他的父親補充說。

'But what shall I tell the dairyman's wife?' said Angel.
“但是我怎樣對克里克太太說呢？”安琪爾說。

'The truth, of course,' said his father.
“當然實話實說，”他的父親說。

'I rather wanted to say we enjoyed the mead and the blackpuddings very much. She is a kind, jolly sort of body, and is sure to ask me directly I return.'
“我倒愿意對她說，我們非常喜歡她的蜜酒和血腸。她是那種友好、快活一類的人，我一回去，她肯定就要立即問我的。”

'You cannot, if we did not,' Mr Clare answered lucidly.
“既然我們沒有吃，你就不能那樣說，”克萊爾先生明明白白地說。

'AH - no; though that mead was a drop of pretty tipple.'
“啊——不那么說好了；不過那種蜜酒倒是值得一點一點品嘗呢。”

'A what?' said Cuthbert and Felix both.
“你說什么呀？”卡斯伯特和費利克斯一齊問。

'Oh--'tis an expression they use down at Talbothays,' replied Angel, blushing. He felt that his parents were right in their practice if wrong in their want of sentiment, and said no more.
“哦——這是在泰波塞斯使用的說法，”安琪爾臉上一紅，回答說。他覺得他的父母不近人情是不對的，但是他們的做法卻是對的，所以就沒有再說話。