狄更斯雙語小說:《董貝父子》第44章Part4

'Do you call it managing this establishment, Madam,' said Mr Dombey, 'to leave a person like this at liberty to come and talk to me! A gentleman - in his own house - in his own room - assailed with the impertinences of women-servants!'
'Well, Sir,' returned Mrs Pipchin, with vengeance in her hard grey eye, 'I exceedingly deplore it; nothing can be more irregular; nothing can be more out of all bounds and reason; but I regret to say, Sir, that this young woman is quite beyond control. She has been spoiled by Miss Dombey, and is amenable to nobody. You know you're not,' said Mrs Pipchin, sharply, and shaking her head at Susan Nipper. 'For shame, you hussy! Go along with you!'
'If you find people in my service who are not to be controlled, Mrs Pipchin,' said Mr Dombey, turning back towards the fire, 'you know what to do with them, I presume. You know what you are here for? Take her away!'
'Sir, I know what to do,' retorted Mrs Pipchin, 'and of course shall do it' Susan Nipper,' snapping her up particularly short, 'a month's warning from this hour.'
'Oh indeed!' cried Susan, loftily.
'Yes,' returned Mrs Pipchin, 'and don't smile at me, you minx, or I'll know the reason why! Go along with you this minute!'
'I intend to go this minute, you may rely upon it,' said the voluble Nipper. 'I have been in this house waiting on my young lady a dozen year and I won't stop in it one hour under notice from a person owning to the name of Pipchin trust me, Mrs P.'
'A good riddance of bad rubbish!' said that wrathful old lady. 'Get along with you, or I'll have you carried out!'
'My comfort is,' said Susan, looking back at Mr Dombey, 'that I have told a piece of truth this day which ought to have been told long before and can't be told too often or too plain and that no amount of Pipchinses - I hope the number of 'em mayn't be great' (here Mrs Pipchin uttered a very sharp 'Go along with you!' and Miss Nipper repeated the look) 'can unsay what I have said, though they gave a whole year full of warnings beginning at ten o'clock in the forenoon and never leaving off till twelve at night and died of the exhaustion which would be a Jubilee!'
With these words, Miss Nipper preceded her foe out of the room; and walking upstairs to her own apartments in great state, to the choking exasperation of the ireful Pipchin, sat down among her boxes and began to cry.
From this soft mood she was soon aroused, with a very wholesome and refreshing effect, by the voice of Mrs Pipchin outside the door.
'Does that bold-faced slut,' said the fell Pipchin, 'intend to take her warning, or does she not?'
Miss Nipper replied from within that the person described did not inhabit that part of the house, but that her name was Pipchin, and she was to be found in the housekeeper's room.
'You saucy baggage!' retorted Mrs Pipchin, rattling at the handle of the door. 'Go along with you this minute. Pack up your things directly! How dare you talk in this way to a gentle-woman who has seen better days?'

“夫人，”董貝先生說道，”聽任這一類人放肆地進來跟?我談話，一位上層社會的高貴人物在他自己的公館裏，在他自己的房間裏竟居然被他的女僕人魯莽無禮地教訓起來，您還能說是在管家嗎？”
“說得對，先生，”皮普欽太太回答道，她那冷酷無情的灰色眼睛中閃射出復仇的火焰，”我非常抱歉，沒有比這更不成體統的事了，沒有比這更無法無天、超越理性的事了。不過我不得不遺憾地指出，先生，這個年輕女人是很難管束的。她被董貝小姐慣壞了，誰的話她都不聽。你明白，你就是這樣的，”皮普欽太太對蘇珊?尼珀搖着頭，苛刻地說道，”真不害臊，你這輕佻的賤貨！快給我滾！”
“在爲我服務的人們當中，您如果發現有誰難以管束，皮普欽太太，”董貝先生又轉向壁爐，說道，”我想，您知道該怎麼處理他們。您知道您在這裏是幹什麼的嗎？把她帶走！”
“先生，我知道該怎麼辦，”皮普欽太太回答道，”當然我將會這麼辦的。蘇珊?尼珀，”她怒氣衝衝、特別急躁無禮地對着她說道，”我預先通知你，從現在起一個月以後你就被解僱了。”
“哦，真的嗎？”蘇珊高傲地回答道。
“是的，”皮普欽太太回答道，”別朝我發笑，你這發瘋的姑娘，要不就把你發笑的原因說出來！你這一分鐘就給我滾！”
“我這分鐘就走，這一點你別擔心，”能言善辯的尼珀說道，”我在這屋子裏侍候我的小姐已有十二年，在姓皮普欽的向我發出解僱通知以後，我不會在這裏再待一個鐘頭，這一點你可以相信我，皮太太。”
“我們終於把這臭垃圾給清除掉了！”怒氣沖天的老太太說道，”快滾吧，要不我就命令把你拽出去！”
“我感到安慰的是，”蘇珊回過頭去看着董貝先生，說道，”今天我把好久以前就應當說出的真實情況說出來了，這些話不論說多少次也不會嫌多，不論怎麼說也不會嫌太直率，而且沒有哪一位皮普欽--我希望她們人數不多--（這時皮普欽太太十分兇狠地喊了一聲，”給我滾！”，尼珀姑娘則重新向她送去一個眼神）能取消我已經說了的話，雖然這些皮普欽在整整一年時間裏從上午十點鐘起一直到夜裏十二點鐘爲止，一直沒休沒止地發出解僱的警告，最後終於精疲力盡而死去，那時候倒將是個真正歡樂的節日哩！”
尼珀姑娘說完這些話之後，在她的仇人的跟隨下，走出了房間，十分莊嚴地上了樓，回到自己的房間，把忿怒的皮普欽氣得喘不過氣來，然後她在她的一些箱子中間坐下，開始哭起來。
不久，她就被門外皮普欽太太的從這軟弱的狀態中喚醒，結果是很有益於身心和振奮精神的。
“那條厚顏無恥的母狗，”兇惡的皮普欽太太說道，”打算接受解僱呢還是不打算接受？”
尼珀姑娘從房間裏回答道，她所說的那條厚顏無恥的母狗不在這個房間，那條母狗姓皮普欽，到女管家房間裏去可以找到。
“你這不懂規矩的婊子！”皮普欽太太回罵道，一邊卡嗒卡嗒地轉動着門把，”這分鐘就給我滾！立刻就收拾你的東西！你怎麼敢這樣對一位過過好日子的貴夫人說話？”