43岁的她身家上百亿（其中大部分不是她自己的）

A bright spring day was fading into evening. High overhead in the clear heavens small rosy clouds seemed hardly to move across the sky but to be sinking into its depths of blue.

那天，春光明媚，渐近黄昏。晴朗的高空中，那玫瑰色的小片小片云彩仿佛是渐渐沉没在蓝天深处，而不是掠过天空。

In a handsome house in one of the outlying streets of the government town of O— (it was in the year 1842) two women were sitting at an open window; one was about fifty, the other an old lady of seventy.

O省城城外的一条街道上坐落着一栋富丽堂皇的宅邸（这事发生在1842年），两位妇女坐在敞开的窗前，一位约有五十岁，另一位老太太七十岁左右。

The name of the former was Marya Dmitrievna Kalitin. Her husband, a shrewd determined man of obstinate bilious temperament, had been dead for ten years. He had been a provincial public prosecutor, noted in his own day as a successful man of business. He had received a fair education and had been to the university; but having been born in narrow circumstances he realized early in life the necessity of pushing his own way in the world and making money. It had been a love-match on Marya Dmitrievna's side. He was not bad-looking, was clever and could be very agreeable when he chose. Marya Dmitrievna Pesto—that was her maiden name—had lost her parents in childhood. She spent some years in a boarding-school in Moscow, and after leaving school, lived on the family estate of Pokrovskoe, about forty miles from O—, with her aunt and her elder brother. This brother soon after obtained a post in Petersburg, and made them a scanty allowance. He treated his aunt and sister very shabbily till his sudden death cut short his career. Marya Dmitrievna inherited Pokrovskoe, but she did not live there lon...

前者的名字叫玛丽娅·德米特里耶芙娜·卡里金。她的丈夫倔强易怒、精明果断，已经去世十年了。他曾任省检察官，生前工作出色，在职时享有盛誉。他上过大学，受过良好的教育，但是由于出身贫寒，他早早就懂得必须奋力向前闯并且多多赚钱。玛丽娅·德米特里耶芙娜和他是恋爱结婚的。他长得不错，人也聪明，乐意的时候，还可以表现得非常和蔼可亲。玛丽娅·德米特里耶芙娜·佩斯托（她出嫁以前姓佩斯托）幼年时就失去了双亲。她曾在莫斯科的一所寄宿学校上了几年学，毕业后，与姑姑、哥哥一起住在离O省城四十英里的祖产波克罗夫斯基村。没过多久，她的这个哥哥去彼得斯堡任职，让她们靠微薄的津贴过活。他对他的姑姑和妹妹一直很吝啬，直到死神突降，终断了他的事业。玛丽娅·德米特里耶芙娜继承了波克罗夫斯基村，不过并没有在那里住多久。在她和卡里金——这个几天内就赢得了她的芳心的男人——结婚两年后，她就用波克罗夫斯基村换得了另一处地产，这块地产的收益要多得多，但是一点也不美，也没有娱乐场所。同时，卡里金在O市购买了一幢房子，在那里长久地居住下来。这幢房子周围有一个大花园，从花园的一边可以将城外空旷的田野一览无余。

"And so," decided Kalitin, who had a great distaste for the quiet of country life, "there would be no need for them to be dragging themselves off into the country." In her heart Marya Dmitrievna more than once regretted her pretty Pokrovskoe, with its babbling brook, its wide meadows, and green copses; but she never opposed her husband in anything and had the greatest veneration for his wisdom and knowledge of the world. When after fifteen years of married life he died leaving her with a son and two daughters, Marya Dmitrievna had grown so accustomed to her house and to town life that she had no inclination to leave O—.

“这样，”很不喜欢宁静的乡村生活的卡里金决定，“就不用老往乡下跑了。”可是玛丽娅·德米特里耶芙娜不止一次地在心里为她那美丽的波克罗夫斯基村感到惋惜，还有那里的潺潺溪流、宽阔的草原和青葱的树丛。不过，不论任何事情，她都是顺着丈夫的意见，并且对他的才智和知识推崇备至。和她一起生活了十五年之后，卡里金撒手人寰，给她留下一子两女。这时，玛丽娅·德米特里耶芙娜已经完全习惯了她的住宅和城市生活，再也不愿离开O市了。

In her youth Marya Dmitrievna had always been spoken of as a pretty blonde; and at fifty her features had not lost all charm, though they were somewhat coarser and less delicate in outline. She was more sentimental than kindhearted; and even at her mature age, she retained the manners of the boarding-school. She was self-indulgent and easily put out, even moved to tears when she was crossed in any of her habits. She was, however, very sweet and agreeable when all her wishes were carried out and none opposed her. Her house was among the pleasantest in the town. She had a considerable fortune, not so much from her own property as from her husband's savings. Her two daughters were living with her; her son was being educated in one of the best government schools in Petersburg.

玛丽娅·德米特里耶芙娜年轻时是公认的漂亮金发女郎。如今，年至半百的她虽然身材失去了魅力，身姿不那么曼妙，却也风韵犹存。与其说她心地善良，倒不如说她多愁善感，甚至成年之后还保留着寄宿学校时的习气。她做事自我放纵，动不动就生气，稍不如意时甚至开始哭闹。但是，当她事事如愿、样样称心时，她也显得可亲可爱。她的住宅是市里最舒适宜人的房子之一。她家产颇丰，其中大部分不是她自己的，而是她丈夫的积蓄。两个女儿与她住在一起，儿子在彼得斯堡一所最好的公立学校读书。

The old lady sitting with Marya Dmitrievna at the window was her father's sister, the same aunt with whom she had once spent some solitary years in Pokrovskoe. Her name was Marfa Timofyevna Pestov. She had a reputation for eccentricity as she was a woman of an independent character, told every one the truth to his face, and even in the most straitened circumstances behaved just as if she had a fortune at her disposal. She could not endure Kalitin, and directly her niece married him, she removed to her little property, where for ten whole years she lived in a smoky peasants' hut. Marya Dmitrievna was a little afraid of her. A little sharp-nosed woman with black hair and keen eyes even in her old age, Marfa Timofyevna walked briskly, held herself upright and spoke quickly and clearly in a sharp ringing voice. She always wore a white cap and a white dressing-jacket.

与玛丽娅·德米特里耶芙娜同坐在窗前的老太太是他父亲的妹妹，也就是曾与她在波克罗夫斯基村度过几年寂寞时光的那位姑姑。她名叫玛尔法·季莫菲耶芙娜·佩斯托。她的脾气古怪可是出了名的，她性格独立，敢于当面实话实说。即使生活到了勉强糊口的地步，她的举止也像是拥有万贯家产似的。她容忍不了卡里金，她的侄女一嫁给他，她就搬到她的小村子里，在一个烟熏雾绕的农舍里住了整整十年。玛丽娅·德米特里耶芙娜有点儿怕她。玛尔法·季莫菲耶芙娜个子矮小，鼻子尖尖的。即使人到暮年，她依然头发乌黑，目光灵敏，走起路来步伐轻快、身板挺立，说起话来伶牙俐齿、声音尖细响亮。她经常戴着一顶白色的包发包，穿着一件短上衣。

"What's the matter with you?" she asked Marya Dmitrievna suddenly. "What are you sighing about, pray?"

“你怎么了？”她突然问玛丽娅·德米特里耶芙娜，“你长吁短叹的，干什么呢，求你啦？”

"Nothing," answered the latter. "What exquisite clouds!"

“没什么。”玛丽娅回答道，“好美的云彩啊！”

"You feel sorry for them, eh?"

“你觉得它们可怜，是吗？”

Marya Dmitrievna made no reply.

玛丽娅·德米特里耶芙娜没有回答。

"Why is it Gedeonovsky does not come?" observed Marfa Timofyevna, moving her knitting needles quickly.(She was knitting a large woolen scarf.) "He would have sighed with you—or at least he'd have had some fib to tell you."

“格杰奥诺夫斯基怎么还没来？”玛尔法·季莫菲耶芙娜说，一边快速地拨弄着织针（她正在织一条宽大的羊毛围巾），“他要么跟你一起长吁短叹，要么至少会跟你东拉西扯。”

"How hard you always are on him! Sergei Petrovitch is a worthy man."

“您怎么总是对他那么严厉！谢尔盖·彼得罗维奇是一个高尚的人。”

"Worthy!" repeated the old lady scornfully.

“高尚！”老太太轻蔑地重复道。

"And how devoted he was to my poor husband!" observed Marya Dmitrievna; "even now he cannot speak of him without emotion."

“他对我那短命的丈夫多忠诚啊！”玛丽娅·德米特里耶芙娜说，“到现在一提到我丈夫，他还很激动呢。”

"And no wonder! It was he who picked him out of the gutter," muttered Marfa Timofyevna, and her knitting needles moved faster than ever.

“那当然了！那可是你丈夫把他从泥坑里拉出来的。”玛尔法·季莫菲耶芙娜嘟囔着，她那织针拨动得更快了。

"He looks so meek and mild," she began again, "with his grey head, but he no sooner opens his mouth than out comes a lie or a slander. And to think of his having the rank of a councillor! To be sure, though, he's only a village priest's son."

“看上去倒还温顺老实，”她又接着说，“头发都全白了，可是一张嘴，不是说瞎话就是说别人的坏话。亏他还是个五等文官呢！不过，当然了，他不过只是个乡下牧师的儿子。”

"Every one has faults, auntie; that is his weak point, no doubt. Sergei Petrovitch has had no education: of course he does not speak French, still, say what you like, he is an agreeable man.”

“人无完人嘛，姑姑，不过他确实有这个毛病。谢尔盖·彼得罗维奇没有受过什么教育，当然也不会说法语。不过，不管您怎么说，他仍然是个讨人喜欢的人。”

"Yes, he is always ready to kiss your hands. He does not speak French—that's no great loss. I am not over strong in the French lingo myself. It would be better if he could not speak at all; he would not tell lies then. But here he is—speak of the devil," added Marfa Timofyevna looking into the street. "Here comes your agreeable man striding along. What a lanky creature he is, just like a stork!"

“是啊，他一直对你奉承有加嘛。他不会说法语——这也不是什么大不了的事。我的法国方言也说得一般。如果他什么语言都不会说，那就最好不过了，那样他就不会撒谎了。他来了，真是说曹操，曹操到。”玛尔法·季莫菲耶芙娜朝大街上望了望，接着说，“你那位讨人喜欢的人正大步走过来。瘦长瘦长的，简直像只鹤！”

Marya Dmitrievna began to arrange her curls. Marfa Timofyevna looked at her ironically.

玛丽娅·德米特里耶芙娜整了整自己的卷发。玛尔法·季莫菲耶芙娜嘲弄地看了她一眼。

"What's that, not a grey hair surely? You must speak to your Palashka, what can she be thinking about?"

“咦，那是什么啊？不会真是根白头发吧？你可得说说你的帕拉什卡，她怎么能没看见呢？”

"Really, auntie, you are always so..." muttered Marya Dmitrievna in a tone of vexation, drumming on the arm of her chair with her finger-tips.

“真是的，姑姑，您怎么老是这样啊……”玛丽娅·德米特里耶芙娜用略带愠怒的口吻低声说道，一边用指尖敲打着椅子的扶手。

"Sergei Petrovitch Gedeonovsky!" was announced in a shrill piping voice, by a rosy-cheeked little page who made his appearance at the door.

“谢尔盖·彼得罗维奇·格杰奥诺夫斯基到！”一个面颊红润的小侍从从门外跑进来，尖声禀报道。