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'Who is Mrs Pipchin, Louisa?' asked Mr Dombey; aghast at this familiar introduction of a name he had never heard before.
“皮普钦太太是谁，路易莎？”董贝先生问道，他对这样随随便便地介绍一位他以前从没有听说过的人感到吃惊。
'Mrs Pipchin, my dear Paul,' returned his sister, 'is an elderly lady - Miss Tox knows her whole history - who has for some time devoted all the energies of her mind, with the greatest success, to the study and treatment of infancy, and who has been extremely well connected. Her husband broke his heart in - how did you say her husband broke his heart, my dear? I forget the precise circumstances.
“我亲爱的保罗，”他的妹妹回答道，“皮普钦太太是一位上了年纪的女士——托克斯小姐知道她的全部历史——，有一个时期曾把全部心血都从事于对幼儿的研究与护理，取得了很大的成功；她还有一些门第高贵的亲戚。她的丈夫是伤心而死的——您说她的丈夫是怎样伤心而死的，我亲爱的？我已记不清那样详情细节了。”
'In pumping water out of the Peruvian Mines,' replied Miss Tox.
“当时他在秘鲁用泵把水从矿井里抽出来，”托克斯小姐回答道。
'Not being a Pumper himself, of course,' said Mrs Chick, glancing at her brother; and it really did seem necessary to offer the explanation, for Miss Tox had spoken of him as if he had died at the handle; 'but having invested money in the speculation, which failed. I believe that Mrs Pipchin's management of children is quite astonishing. I have heard it commended in private circles ever since I was - dear me - how high!' Mrs Chick's eye wandered about the bookcase near the bust of Mr Pitt, which was about ten feet from the ground.
“当然，他自己倒不是一位抽水泵的工人，”奇克夫人向她的哥哥看了一眼，说道；这个解释似乎确实是必要的，因为从托克斯小姐所 说的话听起来，仿佛他是死在水泵的摇柄旁边似的；“而是在那个企业中投资，它后来破产了。我相信皮普钦太太对孩子的管理是相当惊人的。我曾在一些要好的朋友中间听到大家赞扬她，那还是当我是——我的天——多么高！”奇克夫人的眼光正转到书橱上、离地大约有十英尺的皮特先生的半身像上。
'Perhaps I should say of Mrs Pipchin, my dear Sir,' observed Miss Tox, with an ingenuous blush, 'having been so pointedly referred to, that the encomium which has been passed upon her by your sweet sister is well merited. Many ladies and gentleman, now grown up to be interesting members of society, have been indebted to her care. The humble individual who addresses you was once under her charge. I believe juvenile nobility itself is no stranger to her establishment.'
“我亲爱的先生，”托克斯小姐天真地红了红脸，说道，“对于这位明确提到了的皮普钦太太，也许我得说一下，令妹对她的赞词是她当之无愧的。许多当今已成为社会重要人物的女士们与先生们都曾受惠于她的教养。现在跟您讲话的鄙人也曾经一度接受过她的管教。我想，名门贵族的青少年对她的所都并不陌生。”
'Do I understand that this respectable matron keeps an establishment, Miss Tox?' the Mr Dombey, condescendingly.
'Why, I really don't know,' rejoined that lady, 'whether I am justified in calling it so. It is not a Preparatory School by any means. Should I express my meaning,' said Miss Tox, with peculiar sweetness,'if I designated it an infantine Boarding-House of a very select description?'
“您是说，这位可敬的女士开办着一个什么所吗，托克斯小姐？”董贝先生谦和地问道。“唔，”那位小姐回答道，“我确实不知道我这样称呼它是否合适。那决不是一个预备学校；”托克斯小姐特别温柔亲切地说道，“如果我把它称为最上等的幼儿供膳寄宿所，那么也许我能把我的意思表达出来吧？”
'On an exceedingly limited and particular scale,' suggested Mrs Chick, with a glance at her brother.
“这个所对幼儿的挑选是特别严格的，人数是极为有限的，”奇克夫人向她的哥哥 看了一眼，提示道。
