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Mr Dombey did not look less pompous or at all displeased, as he stood leaning against the chimney-piece, surveying his (of courseunconscious) clerk, from head to foot. The stiffness and nicety of Mr Carker's dress, and a certain arrogance of manner, either natural to him or imitated from a pattern not far off, gave great additional effect to his humility. He seemed a man who would contend against the power that vanquished him, if he could, but who was utterly borne down by the greatness and superiority of Mr Dombey. 'Is Morfin here?' asked Mr Dombey after a short pause, during which Mr Carker had been fluttering his papers, and muttering little abstracts of their contents to himself.
董贝先生背靠着壁炉，站在那里，从头到脚打量着他的下属（当然是无意识的），这时他那高傲自负的神色没有稍减半分，也没有任何不愉快的样子。卡克先生严谨而雅致的衣着和有几分妄自尊大的态度（也许是他生性如此，也许是从离他不远的榜样中模仿到的）给他的谦恭增添了特别的效果。如果他能够的话，他似乎是一位会对征服他的力量进行反抗的人；但是董贝先生的崇高与优越的地位却把他完全压倒了。 “莫芬在这里吗？”董贝先生在短短的沉默之后，问道；卡克先生在那段时间中一直在翻着他的公文，并自言自语地嘀咕几句公文的摘要。
'Morfin's here,' he answered, looking up with his widest and almost sudden smile; 'humming musical recollections - of his last night's quartette party, I suppose - through the walls between us, and driving me half mad. I wish he'd make a bonfire of his violoncello, and burn his music-books in it.'
“莫芬在这里，”他抬起眼睛，露出那极为宽阔、极为急速的微笑，回答道：“正通过我们之间的隔墙哼唱着，我想大概是回想他昨天四重奏乐团的音乐吧，它把我弄得都快要疯了。我真希望他把他的大提琴烧了，把他的乐谱也一道扔到火里去。”
'You respect nobody, Carker, I think,' said Mr Dombey.
“我觉得，您什么人也不尊敬，卡克，”董贝先生说道。
'No?' inquired Carker, with another wide and most feline show of his teeth. 'Well! Not many people, I believe. I wouldn't answer perhaps,' he murmured, as if he were only thinking it, 'for more than one.'
“是吗？”卡克问道，一边又露出了一个宽阔的、极为狡诈的微笑，露出了他的牙齿；“唔！不是对好多人都尊敬，我想。也许是，”他低声嘀咕着，仿佛他只是在想这件事，“我不想对一个以上的人负责。”
A dangerous quality, if real; and a not less dangerous one, if feigned. But Mr Dombey hardly seemed to think so, as he still stood with his back to the fire, drawn up to his full height, and looking at his head-clerk with a dignified composure, in which there seemed to lurk a stronger latent sense of power than usual.
如果这是真的话，那么这是危险的品质；如果这是假装的话，那么它也同样危险。可是董贝先生似乎并不这样想；这时他挺直了身子，仍旧背对着壁炉站着，同时威严而镇静地望着他下属中这位第一把手，在神态中似乎对他自己的权力隐藏着比平时更为强烈的潜在的意识。
'Talking of Morfin,' resumed Mr Carker, taking out one paper from the rest, 'he reports a junior dead in the agency at Barbados, and proposes to reserve a passage in the Son and Heir - she'll sail in a month or so - for the successor. You don't care who goes, I suppose? We have nobody of that sort here.'
“说到莫芬。”卡克先生从公文中抽出一页纸来，继续说道，“他报告说，巴巴多斯①代销处的一位低级职员死了，因此建议为接替他的人订购一张船票，乘‘儿子与继承人’这条船去，它大约在一个月左右开航。我想，您认为谁去都一样吧？我们这里没有合适的人。”
Mr Dombey shook his head with supreme indifference.
董贝先生非常漠不关心地点点头。
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①巴巴多斯（Barbados）：位于西印度群岛最东端，为一珊瑚岛；在狄更斯写作此书时，它是英国的殖民地。
