Chapter 14. James Howard 第 14 章詹姆斯·霍华德

Early one morning in December John had just led me into my box after my daily exercise, and was strapping my cloth on and James was coming in from the corn chamber with some oats, when the master came into the stable. 12 月的一个清晨，John 刚领我结束日常锻炼进入我的包厢，帮我系好布，James 拿着一些燕麦从玉米室进来，这时主人走进了马厩。 He looked rather serious, and held an open letter in his hand. John fastened the door of my box, touched his cap, and waited for orders.

"Good-morning, John," said the master. "I want to know if you have any complaint to make of James." “我想知道你对詹姆斯有没有什么要抱怨的。” "Complaint, sir? No, sir." "Is he industrious at his work and respectful to you?" "Yes, sir, always." "You never find he slights his work when your back is turned?" “当你背对着他的时候，你从来没有发现他怠慢了他的工作吗？” "Never, sir." "That's well; but I must put another question. “那很好；但我必须提出另一个问题。 Have you no reason to suspect, when he goes out with the horses to exercise them or to take a message, that he stops about talking to his acquaintances, or goes into houses where he has no business, leaving the horses outside?" "No, sir, certainly not; and if anybody has been saying that about James, I don't believe it, and I don't mean to believe it unless I have it fairly proved before witnesses; it's not for me to say who has been trying to take away James' character, but I will say this, sir, that a steadier, pleasanter, honester, smarter young fellow I never had in this stable. I can trust his word and I can trust his work; he is gentle and clever with the horses, and I would rather have them in charge with him than with half the young fellows I know of in laced hats and liveries; and whoever wants a character of James Howard," said John, with a decided jerk of his head, "let them come to John Manly." Puedo confiar en su palabra y puedo confiar en su trabajo; es manso y hábil con los caballos, y preferiría tenerlos a cargo de él que de la mitad de los jóvenes que conozco con sombreros de cordones y libreas; y quien quiera un personaje de James Howard —dijo John, con un decidido movimiento de cabeza—, que venga a John Manly. The master stood all this time grave and attentive, but as John finished his speech a broad smile spread over his face, and looking kindly across at James, who all this time had stood still at the door, he said, "James, my lad, set down the oats and come here; I am very glad to find that John's opinion of your character agrees so exactly with my own. 主人一直严肃而专心地站着，但当约翰说完话时，他的脸上绽放出灿烂的笑容，慈祥地看着一直站在门口的詹姆斯，他说：“詹姆斯，我的孩子, 放下燕麦来到这里；我很高兴发现约翰对你性格的看法与我的完全一致。 John is a cautious man," he said, with a droll smile, "and it is not always easy to get his opinion about people, so I thought if I beat the bush on this side the birds would fly out, and I should learn what I wanted to know quickly; so now we will come to business. John es un hombre cauteloso", dijo con una sonrisa graciosa, "y no siempre es fácil conocer su opinión sobre la gente, así que pensé que si me andaba con rodeos de este lado, los pájaros saldrían volando y yo aprendería lo que quería saber rápidamente; así que ahora vamos a entrar en materia. I have a letter from my brother-in-law, Sir Clifford Williams, of Clifford Hall. He wants me to find him a trustworthy young groom, about twenty or twenty-one, who knows his business. Quiere que le encuentre un mozo joven de confianza, de unos veinte o veintiún años, que sepa de oficio. His old coachman, who has lived with him thirty years, is getting feeble, and he wants a man to work with him and get into his ways, who would be able, when the old man was pensioned off, to step into his place. Su viejo cochero, que ha vivido con él treinta años, se está debilitando, y quiere un hombre que trabaje con él y siga sus caminos, que pueda, cuando el viejo se haya jubilado, ocupar su lugar. 和他一起生活了三十年的老马车夫越来越虚弱了，他想要一个人和他一起工作，走他的路，当老头子退休后，谁能接替他的位置。 He would have eighteen shillings a week at first, a stable suit, a driving suit, a bedroom over the coachhouse, and a boy under him. Tendría dieciocho chelines a la semana al principio, un traje de cuadra, un traje de conducir, un dormitorio sobre la cochera y un niño debajo de él. Sir Clifford is a good master, and if you could get the place it would be a good start for you. I don't want to part with you, and if you left us I know John would lose his right hand." No quiero separarme de ti, y si nos dejas, sé que John perdería su mano derecha". "That I should, sir," said John, "but I would not stand in his light for the world." "Eso debería, señor", dijo John, "pero no me pararía en su luz por nada del mundo". “我应该，先生，”约翰说，“但我不会为了这个世界而站在他的立场上。” "How old are you, James?" said master.

"Nineteen next May, sir." "That's young; what do you think, John?" "Well, sir, it is young; but he is as steady as a man, and is strong, and well grown, and though he has not had much experience in driving, he has a light firm hand and a quick eye, and he is very careful, and I am quite sure no horse of his will be ruined for want of having his feet and shoes looked after." "Bueno, señor, es joven; pero es tan estable como un hombre, y es fuerte, y bien crecido, y aunque no ha tenido mucha experiencia en la conducción, tiene una mano ligera y firme y un ojo rápido, y él es muy cuidadoso, y estoy seguro de que ningún caballo suyo se arruinará por falta de cuidado de sus pies y zapatos". “好吧，先生，它很年轻；但他像个男人一样稳重，强壮，而且长得很好，虽然他没有多少驾驶经验，但他的手轻巧结实，眼睛敏锐，他他非常小心，我敢肯定他的马不会因为没有人照顾他的脚和鞋子而毁掉。” "Your word will go the furthest, John," said the master, "for Sir Clifford adds in a postscript, 'If I could find a man trained by your John I should like him better than any other;' so, James, lad, think it over, talk to your mother at dinner-time, and then let me know what you wish." "Tu palabra llegará más lejos, John", dijo el maestro, "porque sir Clifford agrega en una posdata: 'Si pudiera encontrar un hombre entrenado por tu John, me agradaría más que cualquier otro'; Así que, James, muchacho, piénsalo bien, habla con tu madre a la hora de la cena y luego dime lo que deseas. In a few days after this conversation it was fully settled that James should go to Clifford Hall, in a month or six weeks, as it suited his master, and in the meantime he was to get all the practice in driving that could be given to him. Pocos días después de esta conversación, se decidió por completo que James debería ir a Clifford Hall, en un mes o seis semanas, según le convenía a su amo, y mientras tanto debía obtener toda la práctica de conducción que se le podía dar. a él. I never knew the carriage to go out so often before; when the mistress did not go out the master drove himself in the two-wheeled chaise; but now, whether it was master or the young ladies, or only an errand, Ginger and I were put in the carriage and James drove us. 我从来不知道马车经常出门；女主人不出去，老爷就自己开着两轮马车。但是现在，不管是主人还是年轻女士们，或者只是差事，金杰和我都被放在马车里，詹姆斯开车送我们。 At the first John rode with him on the box, telling him this and that, and after that James drove alone.

Then it was wonderful what a number of places the master would go to in the city on Saturday, and what queer streets we were driven through. He was sure to go to the railway station just as the train was coming in, and cabs and carriages, carts and omnibuses were all trying to get over the bridge together; that bridge wanted good horses and good drivers when the railway bell was ringing, for it was narrow, and there was a very sharp turn up to the station, where it would not have been at all difficult for people to run into each other, if they did not look sharp and keep their wits about them. Estaba seguro de que iría a la estación de ferrocarril justo cuando llegaba el tren, y los taxis y los carruajes, las carretas y los ómnibus intentaban cruzar el puente juntos; ese puente necesitaba buenos caballos y buenos conductores cuando sonaba la campana del ferrocarril, porque era estrecho y había una curva muy cerrada hasta la estación, donde no habría sido nada difícil que la gente se encontrara, si no se veían agudos y no mantenían su ingenio sobre ellos. 他肯定会在火车进站时去火车站，出租车和马车、手推车和公共汽车都在努力一起过桥；那座桥在铁路钟声响起的时候需要好马和好司机，因为它很窄，而且有一个非常急的转弯到车站，在那里人们不难撞到对方，如果他们看起来并不敏锐，也没有保持机智。