我说到做到,
An hour or two sufficed to sketch my own portrait in crayons.
一二个小时便用蜡笔画成了自己的肖像。
And in less than a fortnight I had completed an ivory miniature of an imaginary Blanche Ingram.
而用了近两周的工夫完成了一幅想象中的布兰奇·英格拉姆象牙微型画。
It looked a lovely face enough,
这张脸看上去是够可爱的,
and when compared with the real head in chalk, the contrast was as great as self-control could desire.
同用蜡笔根据真人画成的头像相比,其对比之强烈已到了自制力所能承受的极限。
I derived benefit from the task.
我很得益于这一做法。
It had kept my head and hands employed,
它使我的脑袋和双手都不闲着,
and had given force and fixedness to the new impressions I wished to stamp indelibly on my heart.
也使我希望在心里烙下的不可磨灭的新印象更强烈,更不可动摇。
Ere long, I had reason to congratulate myself
不久我有理由庆幸自己,
on the course of wholesome discipline to which I had thus forced my feelings to submit.
在迫使我的情感服从有益的纪律方面有所长进。
Thanks to it, I was able to meet subsequent occurrences with a decent calm,
多亏了它,我才能够大大方方、平平静静地对付后来发生的事情,
which, had they found me unprepared,
要是我毫无准备,
I should probably have been unequal to maintain, even externally.
那恐怕是连表面的镇静都是无法保持的。