Chapter 2 (10) Kapitel 2 (10) Capítulo 2 (10) Capitolo 2 (10) 第2章 (10) Capítulo 2 (10) Розділ 2 (10)

Mr. Havisham looked down at him a moment. He felt a little awkward and undecided. Si sentiva un po' in imbarazzo e indeciso. As Cedric's mother had said, he was a very little boy. "The Earl of Dorincourt--" he began, and then he glanced involuntarily at Mrs. Errol. Little Lord Fauntleroy's mother suddenly kneeled down by him and put both her tender arms around his childish body. La madre del Piccolo Lord Fauntleroy si inginocchiò improvvisamente accanto a lui e mise entrambe le sue tenere braccia intorno al suo corpo infantile. "Ceddie," she said, "the Earl is your grandpapa, your own papa's father. He is very, very kind, and he loves you and wishes you to love him, because the sons who were his little boys are dead. He wishes you to be happy and to make other people happy. He is very rich, and he wishes you to have everything you would like to have. He told Mr. Havisham so, and gave him a great deal of money for you. You can give some to Bridget now; enough to pay her rent and buy Michael everything. Isn't that fine, Ceddie? Isn't he good?" And she kissed the child on his round cheek, where the bright color suddenly flashed up in his excited amazement. E baciò il bambino sulla sua guancia rotonda, dove il colore brillante si accese improvvisamente nel suo eccitato stupore.

He looked from his mother to Mr. Havisham.

"Can I have it now?" he cried. "Can I give it to her this minute? "Posso darglielo in questo momento? She's just going." Mr. Havisham handed him the money. It was in fresh, clean greenbacks and made a neat roll. Era in biglietti verdi freschi e puliti e formava un rotolo ordinato.

Ceddie flew out of the room with it.

"Bridget!" they heard him shout, as he tore into the kitchen. lo sentirono gridare, mentre si precipitava in cucina. "Bridget, wait a minute! Here's some money. It's for you, and you can pay the rent. My grandpapa gave it to me. It's for you and Michael!" "Oh, Master Ceddie!" "Oh, Maestro Ceddie!" cried Bridget, in an awe-stricken voice. gridò Bridget, con voce stupita. "It's twinty-foive dollars is here. Where be's the misthress?" Dov'è l'infermiera?". "I think I shall have to go and explain it to her," Mrs. Errol said. "Credo che dovrò andare a spiegarglielo", disse la signora Errol. So she, too, went out of the room and Mr. Havisham was left alone for a while. He went to the window and stood looking out into the street reflectively. He was thinking of the old Earl of Dorincourt, sitting in his great, splendid, gloomy library at the castle, gouty and lonely, surrounded by grandeur and luxury, but not really loved by any one, because in all his long life he had never really loved any one but himself; he had been selfish and self-indulgent and arrogant and passionate; he had cared so much for the Earl of Dorincourt and his pleasures that there had been no time for him to think of other people; all his wealth and power, all the benefits from his noble name and high rank, had seemed to him to be things only to be used to amuse and give pleasure to the Earl of Dorincourt; and now that he was an old man, all this excitement and self-indulgence had only brought him ill health and irritability and a dislike of the world, which certainly disliked him. Pensava al vecchio conte di Dorincourt, seduto nella sua grande, splendida e tetra biblioteca al castello, gottoso e solitario, circondato dalla grandezza e dal lusso, ma non amato da nessuno, perché in tutta la sua lunga vita non aveva mai amato nessuno se non se stesso; era stato egoista e indulgente, arrogante e passionale; si era preoccupato così tanto del conte di Dorincourt e dei suoi piaceri che non aveva avuto tempo di pensare ad altre persone; Tutte le sue ricchezze e il suo potere, tutti i benefici derivanti dal suo nome nobile e dal suo alto rango, gli erano sembrati cose da usare solo per divertire e dare piacere al conte di Dorincourt; e ora che era un uomo anziano, tutta questa eccitazione e autoindulgenza gli avevano portato solo cattiva salute e irritabilità e un'antipatia per il mondo, che di certo non gli piaceva. In spite of all his splendor, there was never a more unpopular old nobleman than the Earl of Dorincourt, and there could scarcely have been a more lonely one. Nonostante tutto il suo splendore, non c'è mai stato un vecchio nobile più impopolare del conte di Dorincourt, e difficilmente poteva essercene uno più solitario. He could fill his castle with guests if he chose. Potrebbe riempire il suo castello di ospiti, se volesse. He could give great dinners and splendid hunting parties; but he knew that in secret the people who would accept his invitations were afraid of his frowning old face and sarcastic, biting speeches. Poteva dare grandi cene e splendide battute di caccia; ma sapeva che in segreto le persone che avrebbero accettato i suoi inviti avevano paura del suo vecchio volto accigliato e dei suoi discorsi sarcastici e pungenti. He had a cruel tongue and a bitter nature, and he took pleasure in sneering at people and making them feel uncomfortable, when he had the power to do so, because they were sensitive or proud or timid. Aveva una lingua crudele e una natura amara, e provava piacere nel deridere le persone e farle sentire a disagio, quando aveva il potere di farlo, perché erano sensibili o orgogliose o timide.

Mr. Havisham knew his hard, fierce ways by heart, and he was thinking of him as he looked out of the window into the narrow, quiet street. Il signor Havisham conosceva a memoria i suoi modi duri e feroci e pensava a lui mentre guardava fuori dalla finestra nella strada stretta e tranquilla. And there rose in his mind, in sharp contrast, the picture of the cheery, handsome little fellow sitting in the big chair and telling his story of his friends, Dick and the apple-woman, in his generous, innocent, honest way. Ed ecco che nella sua mente si affacciava, in netto contrasto, l'immagine dell'allegro e bel ragazzino seduto sulla grande sedia che raccontava la storia dei suoi amici, Dick e la donna delle mele, nel suo modo generoso, innocente e onesto. And he thought of the immense income, the beautiful, majestic estates, the wealth, and power for good or evil, which in the course of time would lie in the small, chubby hands little Lord Fauntleroy thrust so deep into his pockets. E pensò alle immense rendite, alle belle e maestose tenute, alla ricchezza e al potere, nel bene e nel male, che nel corso del tempo sarebbero finiti nelle piccole e paffute mani del piccolo Lord Fauntleroy, infilate così a fondo nelle sue tasche.

"It will make a great difference," he said to himself. "Farà una grande differenza", si è detto. "It will make a great difference." Cedric and his mother came back soon after. Cedric was in high spirits. He sat down in his own chair, between his mother and the lawyer, and fell into one of his quaint attitudes, with his hands on his knees. Si sedette sulla sua sedia, tra la madre e l'avvocato, e si mise in uno dei suoi atteggiamenti caratteristici, con le mani sulle ginocchia. He was glowing with enjoyment of Bridget's relief and rapture. Era raggiante per il piacere del sollievo e dell'estasi di Bridget. "She cried!" he said. "She said she was crying for joy! I never saw any one cry for joy before. My grandpapa must be a very good man. I didn't know he was so good a man. It's more--more agreeabler to be an earl than I thought it was. I'm almost glad--I'm almost quite glad I'm going to be one."