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'It's no very precious appointment,' observed Mr Carker, taking up a pen, with which to endorse a memorandum on the back of the paper. 'I hope he may bestow it on some orphan nephew of a musical friend. It may perhaps stop his fiddle-playing, if he has a gift that way. Who's that? Come in!'
“这不是一项很重要的任命，”卡克先生取出一支笔，在公文背面签署了意见。“我想他可能把这个职位赠送给一位孤儿，他一位音乐朋友的侄子了。它也许会终止他的提琴演奏，如果他有那方面的天赋的话。是谁？进来吧！”
'I beg your pardon, Mr Carker. I didn't know you were here, Sir,' answered Walter; appearing with some letters in his hand, unopened, and newly arrived. 'Mr Carker the junior, Sir - '
“请原谅，卡克先生。我不知道您在这里，先生，”沃尔特手里拿了几封没有启封的新到的信件，走进来，回答道：
“是低级职员卡克先生，先生——”
At the mention of this name, Mr Carker the Manager was or affected to be, touched to the quick with shame and humiliation. He cast his eyes full on Mr Dombey with an altered and apologetic look, abased them on the ground, and remained for a moment without speaking.
经理卡克先生一听到这个名字，立刻被触到了痛处，感到羞耻与屈辱，或者装出这种样子；他换了一副抱歉的神色，低垂着眼睛，注视着董贝先生，片刻间一言不发。
'I thought, Sir,' he said suddenly and angrily, turning on Walter, 'that you had been before requested not to drag Mr Carker the Junior into your conversation.'
“我想，先生，”他突然怒冲冲地转身对着沃尔特，说道：“我以前曾经请求您在谈话中别把低级职员卡克先生扯进来的 。”
'I beg your pardon,' returned Walter. 'I was only going to say that Mr Carker the Junior had told me he believed you were gone out, or I should not have knocked at the door when you were engaged with Mr Dombey. These are letters for Mr Dombey, Sir.'
“请您原谅，”沃尔特回答道。“我只是想要说，低级职员卡克先生告诉我，他想您出去了；否则，您与董贝先生正有事商谈的时候，我就不会来敲门了。这些是给董贝先生的信，先生。”
'Very well, Sir,' returned Mr Carker the Manager, plucking them sharply from his hand. 'Go about your business.'
“很好，先生，”经理卡克先生把信从他手里猛抢过去，回答道。“回去干您的事情去吧。”
But in taking them with so little ceremony, Mr Carker dropped one on the floor, and did not see what he had done; neither did Mr Dombey observe the letter lying near his feet. Walter hesitated for a moment, thinking that one or other of them would notice it; but finding that neither did, he stopped, came back, picked it up, and laid it himself on Mr Dombey's desk. The letters were post-letters; and it happened that the one in question was Mrs Pipchin's regular report, directed as usual - for Mrs Pipchin was but an indifferent penwoman - by Florence. Mr Dombey, having his attention silently called to this letter by Walter, started, and looked fiercely at him, as if he believed that he had purposely selected it from all the rest.
可是卡克先生把信拿到手里那样随便无礼，因此他把一封信掉在地上了，而且他自己还没有注意到这一点。董贝先生也没有留意到掉在他脚边的那封信。沃尔特迟疑了一会儿，心想他们两人当中这一位或那一位会注意到的，但发现他们谁也没有注意到，他就停下脚步，走回来，把它捡起来，亲自搁在董贝先生的办公桌上。这些信都是邮寄来的；我们提到的这封信碰巧是皮普钦太太的定期报告，寄发地址像往常一样，是由弗洛伦斯写的，因为皮普钦太太是一位不擅长写字的女人。当董贝先生的注意力被沃尔特默默地吸引到这封信的时候，他吃了一惊，凶猛地看着他，仿佛他相信他是故意把它从所有信中挑出来似的。
'You can leave the room, Sir!' said Mr Dombey, haughtily.
“您可以离开这个房间了，先生，”董贝先生傲慢地说道。
He crushed the letter in his hand; and having watched Walter out at the door, put it in his pocket without breaking the seal.
他把信在手里揉成一团，注视着沃尔特走出门外以后，没有启封就把它塞进衣袋。
