【经典名著阅读】《德伯家的苔丝》第三十二章（下）

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        One Sunday morning Izz Huett returned from church, and spoke privately to Tess.有一个星期天的早上，伊茨·休特等苔丝回来后悄悄地对苔丝说——
        'You was not called home this morning.'“今天早上没有宣布你的结婚通告呢。”
        'What?'“什么？”
        'It should ha' been the first time of asking to-day,' she answered, looking quietly at Tess. 'You meant to be married New Year's Eve, deary?'“应该今天第一次宣布啊，”她回答说，冷静地看着苔丝。“你们不是说在新年的除夕结婚吗，亲爱的？”
        The other returned a quick affirmative.苔丝急忙作了肯定的回答。
        'And there must be three times of asking. And now there be only two Sundays left between.'“总共要宣布三次啊。从现在到新年除夕只有两个星期了呀。”
        Tess felt her cheek paling; Izz was right; of course there must be three. Perhaps he had forgotten! If so, there must be a week's postponement, and that was unlucky. How could she remind her lover? She who had been so backward was suddenly fired with impatience and alarm lest she should lose her dear prize.苔丝觉得自己的脸变白了；伊茨说得对；当然必须宣布三次。也许他把这件事忘了！如果是他忘了，那就得把婚期向后推迟一个礼拜了，那可不是吉利的事。她怎样才能提醒她的爱人呢？她一直是退缩不前的，现在却突然变得心急火燎的，心里慌张起来，她害怕失去了她心爱的珍宝。
        A natural incident relieved her anxiety. Izz mentioned the omission of the banns to Mrs Crick, and Mrs Crick assumed a matron's privilege of speaking to Angel on the point.后来一件自然的事解除了苔丝的焦急。伊茨把没有宣布结婚通告的事对克里克太太说了，于是克里克太太就利用女主人的便利向安琪尔提到了这件事。
        'Have ye forgot 'em, Mr Clare? The banns, I mean.'“你把那件事忘了吧，克莱尔先生？我是指结婚通告。”
        'No, I have not forgot 'em,' says Clare.“没有，我没有忘记，”克莱尔说。
        As soon as he caught Tess alone he assured her:后来他单独看见苔丝就安慰她说——

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        'Don't let them tease you about the banns. A licence will be quieter for us, and I have decided on a licence without consulting you. So if you go to church on Sunday morning you will not hear your own name, if you wished to.'“不要让他们拿结婚通告的事取笑你。结婚许可证对我们更加隐秘些。我已经决定用结婚许可证了，不过没有同你商量。所以你如果在礼拜天早晨上教堂去，如果你想去的话，你是听不到你的名字的。”
        'I didn't wish to hear it, dearest,' she said proudly.“我不想听到宣布我的名字，最亲爱的，”她骄傲地说。
        But to know that things were in train was an immense relief to Tess notwithstanding, who had well-nigh feared that somebody would stand up and forbid the banns on the ground of her history. How events were favouring her!既然知道一切已准备就绪，苔丝也就完全放下心来了，本来她就有些害怕有人在教堂里站起来，揭露她过去的历史，反对结婚通告。一切事情多么地顺心如意呀！
        'I don't quite feel easy,' she said to herself. 'All this good fortune may be scourged out of me afterwards by a lot of ill. That's how Heaven mostly does. I wish I could have had common banns!'“我并不完全放心，”她对自己说。“所有这些好运也许会叫恶运给毁了。天意往往就是如此。我倒希望还是用结婚通告的好！”
        But everything went smoothly. She wondered whether he would like her to be married in her present best white frock, or if she ought to buy a new one. The question was set at rest by his forethought, disclosed by the arrival of some large packages addressed to her. Inside them she found a whole stock of clothing, from bonnet to shoes, including a perfect morning costume, such as would well suit the simple wedding they planned. He entered the house shortly after the arrival of the packages, and heard her upstairs undoing them.但是一切都进行得很顺利。她心里想，在他们结婚的时候，他是喜欢她穿现在穿的这件最好的白色长袍呢，还是她应该再去买一件新的。这个问题他早就想到了，解决了。有一天，邮局给她送来了一个寄给她的大包裹，她打开一看，发现里面是全套的衣服，从帽子到鞋子，还包括早上穿的服装，样样都有，像他们计划中的简单婚礼，那些服装是再合适不过了。在她收到包裹后不久，克莱尔进了屋子，听见了她在楼上打开包裹的声音。
        A minute later she came down with a flush on her face and tears in her eyes.不一会儿她就下了楼，脸上带着红晕，眼里含着泪花。