It is half-past five o'clock, and an autumn afternoon, when the reader and Solomon Gills become acquainted. Solomon Gills is in the act of seeing what time it is by the unimpeachable chronometer.

当我们的读者和所罗门·吉尔士相识之际，正是一个秋天的下午，五点半钟，所罗门拿着那只无懈可击的计时器看着时间。❤

The usual daily clearance has been making in the City for an hour or more; and the human tide is still rolling westward.

通常每天约有一个多小时人们走出商业中心区，而现在人流还在向西滚滚向前。

'The streets have thinned,' as Mr Gills says, 'very much.'

“街上人已经稀少了，”吉尔士先生说，“少得多了。”

It threatens to be wet to-night.

今天夜里要下雨。

All the weatherglasses in the shop are in low spirits, and the rain already shines upon the cocked hat of the wooden Midshipman.

店里的晴雨计全都垂头丧气，雨点已经洒在木制海军候补生的三角帽上。

'Where's Walter, I wonder!' said Solomon Gills, after he had carefully put up the chronometer again. 'Here's dinner been ready, half an hour, and no Walter!'

“沃尔特到哪里去了，真奇怪！”所罗门·吉尔士小心翼翼地把计时器放回原处之后说，“饭已经摆在桌子上半个小时了，可是沃尔特还没有回来！”

Turning round upon his stool behind the counter, Mr Gills looked out among the instruments in the window, to see if his nephew might be crossing the road.

吉尔士先生坐在柜台后面的凳子上转过身来，从窗子里的仪器中间向外观望，想看看他的外甥是不是正好穿过马路。

No.

没有。

He was not among the bobbing umbrellas, and he certainly was not the newspaper boy in the oilskin cap who was slowly working his way along the piece of brass outside, writing his name over Mr Gills's name with his forefinger.

在这些忽高忽低跳动着的雨伞中间没有他的外甥。头戴油布帽子的卖报的男孩在外面的铜牌上面缓慢地划着，用自己的食指把他的名字写在吉尔士先生的名字上面。当然卖报的男孩不是他的外甥。

'If I didn't know he was too fond of me to make a run of it, and go and enter himself aboard ship against my wishes, I should begin to be fidgetty,' said Mr Gills, tapping two or three weather-glasses with his knuckles. 'I really should. All in the Downs, eh! Lots of moisture! Well! it's wanted.'

“要是我不知道他那么喜欢我，不会违背我的愿望自个儿跑到船上去的话，那我可要坐立不安了，”吉尔士先生说着便用手指的关节敲敲两三只晴雨计，“我真要坐立不安了。这些晴雨计都垂头丧气 了，唉！好潮湿！唷！是要下雨的。”

I believe,' said Mr Gills, blowing the dust off the glass top of a compass-case, 'that you don't point more direct and due to the back parlour than the boy's inclination does after all. And the parlour couldn't bear straighter either. Due north. Not the twentieth part of a point either way.'

“我认为，”吉尔士先生一边吹散指南针盒子玻璃罩子上的灰尘一边继续说着，“你真不如我的外甥，他的心直接向着后面的起居室，不偏不离，准对北面，左右都不会二十分之一度。”

'Halloa, Uncle Sol!'

“喂！所尔舅舅！”

'Halloa, my boy!' cried the Instrument-maker, turning briskly round. 'What! you are here, are you?'

“呵呀，我的孩子！”仪器制造商急转身，喊了起来，“怎么？你回来了，你回来了！”

A cheerful looking, merry boy, fresh with running home in the rain;

这个男孩一脸的高兴，冒着雨跑回家来十分兴奋。

fair-faced, bright-eyed, and curly-haired.

他有一个好看的脸孔，一双明亮的眼睛和一头鬈发。

'Well, Uncle, how have you got on without me all day? Is dinner ready? I'm so hungry.'

“舅舅，一整天我不在家你过得好吗？饭烧好了吗？我饿得很。”

'As to getting on,' said Solomon good-naturedly, 'it would be odd if I couldn't get on without a young dog like you a great deal better than with you. As to dinner being ready, it's been ready this half hour and waiting for you. As to being hungry, I am!'

“要说过得好不好，”所罗门和气地说，“没有你这样的小崽子在旁边我要是过得去那才怪呢，你在旁边我要舒服多了。至于晚饭嘛，已经烧好半个小时等你了。你说饿得慌，我也一样饿！”

'Come along then, Uncle!' cried the boy. 'Hurrah for the admiral!'

“那么赶快吧，舅舅！”男孩大声说，“海军上将万岁！”

'Confound the admiral!' returned Solomon Gills. 'You mean the Lord Mayor.'

“见海军上将的鬼！”所罗门·吉尔士说，“你说的是市长大人吧。”

'No I don't!' cried the boy. 'Hurrah for the admiral! Hurrah for the admiral! For-ward!'

“不，不是！”男孩喊起来，“海军上将万岁、万岁、万万岁！起步——走！”

At this word of command, the Welsh wig and its wearer were borne without resistance into the back parlour, as at the head of a boarding party of five hundred men;

听到这个命令，那顶绒线帽和它的主人不由自主地走进里面的起居室，就像带领五百人的军队冲进敌船一样。

and Uncle Sol and his nephew were speedily engaged on a fried sole with a prospect of steak to follow.

所尔舅舅和外甥迫不及待地拿着一条油煎箬鳎鱼就吃，接下去就准备吃牛排了。

'The Lord Mayor, Wally,' said Solomon, 'for ever! No more admirals. The Lord Mayor's your admiral.'

“市长大人，沃利 ，永远是市长大人！”所罗门说，“不要再讲海军上将，市长大人就是你的海军上将。”

'Oh, is he though!' said the boy, shaking his head. 'Why, the Sword Bearer's better than him. He draws his sword sometimes.

“哦，可他是吗？”男孩摇摇头说，“我看佩剑将军 要比他好。

'And a pretty figure he cuts with it for his pains,' returned the Uncle. 'Listen to me, Wally, listen to me. Look on the mantelshelf.'

有时候他会把他的宝剑抽出来。”“他好不容易用那把剑给自己逞威风，”舅舅告诉他，“听我讲，沃利，听我讲。看看壁炉架吧。”

'Why who has cocked my silver mug up there, on a nail?' exclaimed the boy.

“哎呀，谁把我的大银杯挂在钉子上了？”男孩喊了起来。

I have,' said his Uncle. 'No more mugs now. We must begin to drink out of glasses to-day, Walter. We are men of business. We belong to the City. We started in life this morning.

“我挂的，”舅舅说，“现在不再用大银杯了。从今天起我们得用玻璃杯喝酒了，沃尔特。我们是商人，是属于这个商业中心区的，从今天早晨开始，我们就过这种生活了。”

'Well, Uncle,' said the boy, 'I'll drink out of anything you like, so long as I can drink to you. Here's to you, Uncle Sol, and Hurrah for the'Lord Mayor,' interrupted the old man.

“那么，舅舅，”男孩说，“你高兴用什么杯子喝酒我也用什么杯子喝，只要我能够为你干杯。这杯酒祝你健康，所尔舅舅，祝——万岁！” “祝市长大人万岁。”老人插话说。

'For the Lord Mayor, Sheriffs, Common Council, and Livery,' said the boy. 'Long life to 'em!'

“祝市长大人，行政长官，市议员，还有同业公会会员，”男孩说，“祝他们万寿无疆！”

The uncle nodded his head with great satisfaction. 'And now,' he said, 'let's hear something about the Firm.'

舅舅点点头表示十分满意，然后说，“现在让我听听公司的一些事情吧。”

'Oh! there's not much to be told about the Firm, Uncle,' said the boy, plying his knife and fork.' It's a precious dark set of offices, and in the room where I sit, there's a high fender, and an iron safe, and some cards about ships that are going to sail, and an almanack, and some desks and stools, and an inkbottle, and some books, and some boxes, and a lot of cobwebs, and in one of 'em, just over my head, a shrivelled-up blue-bottle that looks as if it had hung there ever so long.'

“哦！公司里面没有什么事情好说的，舅舅，”男孩子一边不停地拿着刀和叉子进食，一边回答着，“公司不过是一个一个黑暗的办公室，在我坐的房间里有一个高高的火炉围栏、一架铁做的保险箱、一些关于正待起航的船舶的卡片、一本年历、几张桌子板凳、一只墨水瓶、几本书、几个箱子和好多的蜘蛛网，在我头顶上的一堆蜘蛛网里面有一只绿头大苍蝇、干瘪瘪的，好像挂在那里很长很长时间了。”

'Nothing else?' said the Uncle.

“没有别样东西了吗？”舅舅问道。

'No, nothing else, except an old birdcage (I wonder how that ever came there!) and a coal-scuttle.'

“没有了，只有一个旧的鸟笼（不知道这个鸟笼怎么会跑到那里去的）和一个煤桶。”

'No bankers' books, or cheque books, or bills, or such tokens of wealth rolling in from day to day?' said old Sol, looking wistfully at his nephew out of the fog that always seemed to hang about him, and laying an unctuous emphasis upon the words.

“没有银行的账簿或者支票簿或者账单或者记载着每天滚滚财源的簿子一类的东西吗？”老所尔追问着，把这些字讲得特别响特别好听，同时透过仿佛老是停留在他四周的雾气渴望地望着外甥。

'Oh yes, plenty of that I suppose,' returned his nephew carelessly; 'but all that sort of thing's in Mr Carker's room, or Mr Morfin's, or MR Dombey's.'

“哦有的，我看有好多呢，”外甥漫不经心地回答着，“不过这些本本都放在卡克尔先生的房间里，或者莫芬先生的房间里，或者董贝先生的房间里。”

'Has Mr Dombey been there to-day?' inquired the Uncle.

“董贝先生今天有没有到那里去？”舅舅探问着。

'Oh yes! In and out all day.'

“哦去的！整天走进走出的。”

'He didn't take any notice of you, I suppose?'.

“他没有看见你，我想。”

'Yes he did. He walked up to my seat, - I wish he wasn't so solemn and stiff, Uncle, - and said, "Oh! you are the son of Mr Gills the Ships' Instrument-maker."

“他看见我的。他走到我的座位前面——舅舅，如果他不是那么庄严古板就好了——对我说，‘哦！你就是船舶仪器制造商吉尔士先生的儿子呵。’

"Nephew, Sir," I said.

‘是外甥，先生。’我说。

"I said nephew, boy," said he.

‘我刚才是讲外甥，孩子。’他说。

But I could take my oath he said son, Uncle.'

不过我可以发誓，他是讲儿子，舅舅。”

'You're mistaken I daresay. It's no matter.

“我看是你听错了，不过这没关系。”

'No, it's no matter, but he needn't have been so sharp, I thought. There was no harm in it though he did say son. Then he told me that you had spoken to him about me, and that he had found me employment in the House accordingly, and that I was expected to be attentive and punctual, and then he went away. I thought he didn't seem to like me much.'

“是没有关系的，可是我觉得他用不着那么严厉的，他说了一声儿子并没有什么不好。随后他告诉我，你把我的情况同他讲过，所以他就在公司里给我找了个差事，他要我好好干，准时上下班，讲好他就走开了。我觉得他好像不怎么喜欢我。”

'You mean, I suppose,' observed the Instrument-maker, 'that you didn't seem to like him much?'

“我想你是说，”仪器制造商指出，“你好像不太喜欢他吧。”

'Well, Uncle,' returned the boy, laughing. 'Perhaps so; I never thought of that.'

“这个，舅舅，”男孩笑着答道，“恐怕是的，不过当时我没有想到这上面去。”