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Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, CHAPTER XI-a

CHAPTER XI-a

A new chapter in a novel is something like a new scene in a play; and when I draw up the curtain this time, reader, you must fancy you see a room in the George Inn at Millcote, with such large figured papering on the walls as inn rooms have; such a carpet, such furniture, such ornaments on the mantelpiece, such prints, including a portrait of George the Third, and another of the Prince of Wales, and a representation of the death of Wolfe. All this is visible to you by the light of an oil lamp hanging from the ceiling, and by that of an excellent fire, near which I sit in my cloak and bonnet; my muff and umbrella lie on the table, and I am warming away the numbness and chill contracted by sixteen hours' exposure to the rawness of an October day: I left Lowton at four o'clock a.m., and the Millcote town clock is now just striking eight. Reader, though I look comfortably accommodated, I am not very tranquil in my mind. I thought when the coach stopped here there would be some one to meet me; I looked anxiously round as I descended the wooden steps the “boots” placed for my convenience, expecting to hear my name pronounced, and to see some description of carriage waiting to convey me to Thornfield. Nothing of the sort was visible; and when I asked a waiter if any one had been to inquire after a Miss Eyre, I was answered in the negative: so I had no resource but to request to be shown into a private room: and here I am waiting, while all sorts of doubts and fears are troubling my thoughts. It is a very strange sensation to inexperienced youth to feel itself quite alone in the world, cut adrift from every connection, uncertain whether the port to which it is bound can be reached, and prevented by many impediments from returning to that it has quitted. The charm of adventure sweetens that sensation, the glow of pride warms it; but then the throb of fear disturbs it; and fear with me became predominant when half-an-hour elapsed and still I was alone. I bethought myself to ring the bell. “Is there a place in this neighbourhood called Thornfield?” I asked of the waiter who answered the summons. “Thornfield?

I don't know, ma'am; I'll inquire at the bar.” He vanished, but reappeared instantly— “Is your name Eyre, Miss?”

“Yes.”

“Person here waiting for you.”

I jumped up, took my muff and umbrella, and hastened into the inn-passage: a man was standing by the open door, and in the lamp-lit street I dimly saw a one-horse conveyance. “This will be your luggage, I suppose?” said the man rather abruptly when he saw me, pointing to my trunk in the passage. “Yes.” He hoisted it on to the vehicle, which was a sort of car, and then I got in; before he shut me up, I asked him how far it was to Thornfield. “A matter of six miles.”

“How long shall we be before we get there?”

“Happen an hour and a half.”

He fastened the car door, climbed to his own seat outside, and we set off. Our progress was leisurely, and gave me ample time to reflect; I was content to be at length so near the end of my journey; and as I leaned back in the comfortable though not elegant conveyance, I meditated much at my ease. “I suppose,” thought I, “judging from the plainness of the servant and carriage, Mrs. Fairfax is not a very dashing person: so much the better; I never lived amongst fine people but once, and I was very miserable with them. I wonder if she lives alone except this little girl; if so, and if she is in any degree amiable, I shall surely be able to get on with her; I will do my best; it is a pity that doing one's best does not always answer. At Lowood, indeed, I took that resolution, kept it, and succeeded in pleasing; but with Mrs. Reed, I remember my best was always spurned with scorn. I pray God Mrs. Fairfax may not turn out a second Mrs. Reed; but if she does, I am not bound to stay with her! let the worst come to the worst, I can advertise again. How far are we on our road now, I wonder?” I let down the window and looked out; Millcote was behind us; judging by the number of its lights, it seemed a place of considerable magnitude, much larger than Lowton. We were now, as far as I could see, on a sort of common; but there were houses scattered all over the district; I felt we were in a different region to Lowood, more populous, less picturesque; more stirring, less romantic. The roads were heavy, the night misty; my conductor let his horse walk all the way, and the hour and a half extended, I verily believe, to two hours; at last he turned in his seat and said— “You're noan so far fro' Thornfield now.” Again I looked out: we were passing a church; I saw its low broad tower against the sky, and its bell was tolling a quarter; I saw a narrow galaxy of lights too, on a hillside, marking a village or hamlet. About ten minutes after, the driver got down and opened a pair of gates: we passed through, and they clashed to behind us. We now slowly ascended a drive, and came upon the long front of a house: candlelight gleamed from one curtained bow-window; all the rest were dark. The car stopped at the front door; it was opened by a maid-servant; I alighted and went in. “Will you walk this way, ma'am?” said the girl; and I followed her across a square hall with high doors all round: she ushered me into a room whose double illumination of fire and candle at first dazzled me, contrasting as it did with the darkness to which my eyes had been for two hours inured; when I could see, however, a cosy and agreeable picture presented itself to my view. A snug small room; a round table by a cheerful fire; an arm-chair high-backed and old-fashioned, wherein sat the neatest imaginable little elderly lady, in widow's cap, black silk gown, and snowy muslin apron; exactly like what I had fancied Mrs. Fairfax, only less stately and milder looking. She was occupied in knitting; a large cat sat demurely at her feet; nothing in short was wanting to complete the beau-ideal of domestic comfort. A more reassuring introduction for a new governess could scarcely be conceived; there was no grandeur to overwhelm, no stateliness to embarrass; and then, as I entered, the old lady got up and promptly and kindly came forward to meet me. “How do you do, my dear?

I am afraid you have had a tedious ride; John drives so slowly; you must be cold, come to the fire.” “Mrs.

Fairfax, I suppose?” said I. “Yes, you are right: do sit down.”

She conducted me to her own chair, and then began to remove my shawl and untie my bonnet-strings; I begged she would not give herself so much trouble. “Oh, it is no trouble; I dare say your own hands are almost numbed with cold. Leah, make a little hot negus and cut a sandwich or two: here are the keys of the storeroom.” And she produced from her pocket a most housewifely bunch of keys, and delivered them to the servant. “Now, then, draw nearer to the fire,” she continued. “You've brought your luggage with you, haven't you, my dear?” “Yes, ma'am.”

“I'll see it carried into your room,” she said, and bustled out. “She treats me like a visitor,” thought I.

“I little expected such a reception; I anticipated only coldness and stiffness: this is not like what I have heard of the treatment of governesses; but I must not exult too soon.” She returned; with her own hands cleared her knitting apparatus and a book or two from the table, to make room for the tray which Leah now brought, and then herself handed me the refreshments. I felt rather confused at being the object of more attention than I had ever before received, and, that too, shown by my employer and superior; but as she did not herself seem to consider she was doing anything out of her place, I thought it better to take her civilities quietly. “Shall I have the pleasure of seeing Miss Fairfax to-night?” I asked, when I had partaken of what she offered me. “What did you say, my dear?

I am a little deaf,” returned the good lady, approaching her ear to my mouth. I repeated the question more distinctly.

“Miss Fairfax?

Oh, you mean Miss Varens! Varens is the name of your future pupil.” “Indeed!

Then she is not your daughter?” “No,—I have no family.”

I should have followed up my first inquiry, by asking in what way Miss Varens was connected with her; but I recollected it was not polite to ask too many questions: besides, I was sure to hear in time. “I am so glad,” she continued, as she sat down opposite to me, and took the cat on her knee; “I am so glad you are come; it will be quite pleasant living here now with a companion. To be sure it is pleasant at any time; for Thornfield is a fine old hall, rather neglected of late years perhaps, but still it is a respectable place; yet you know in winter-time one feels dreary quite alone in the best quarters. I say alone—Leah is a nice girl to be sure, and John and his wife are very decent people; but then you see they are only servants, and one can't converse with them on terms of equality: one must keep them at due distance, for fear of losing one's authority. I'm sure last winter (it was a very severe one, if you recollect, and when it did not snow, it rained and blew), not a creature but the butcher and postman came to the house, from November till February; and I really got quite melancholy with sitting night after night alone; I had Leah in to read to me sometimes; but I don't think the poor girl liked the task much: she felt it confining. In spring and summer one got on better: sunshine and long days make such a difference; and then, just at the commencement of this autumn, little Adela Varens came and her nurse: a child makes a house alive all at once; and now you are here I shall be quite gay.” My heart really warmed to the worthy lady as I heard her talk; and I drew my chair a little nearer to her, and expressed my sincere wish that she might find my company as agreeable as she anticipated. “But I'll not keep you sitting up late to-night,” said she; “it is on the stroke of twelve now, and you have been travelling all day: you must feel tired. If you have got your feet well warmed, I'll show you your bedroom. I've had the room next to mine prepared for you; it is only a small apartment, but I thought you would like it better than one of the large front chambers: to be sure they have finer furniture, but they are so dreary and solitary, I never sleep in them myself.” I thanked her for her considerate choice, and as I really felt fatigued with my long journey, expressed my readiness to retire. She took her candle, and I followed her from the room. First she went to see if the hall-door was fastened; having taken the key from the lock, she led the way upstairs. The steps and banisters were of oak; the staircase window was high and latticed; both it and the long gallery into which the bedroom doors opened looked as if they belonged to a church rather than a house. A very chill and vault-like air pervaded the stairs and gallery, suggesting cheerless ideas of space and solitude; and I was glad, when finally ushered into my chamber, to find it of small dimensions, and furnished in ordinary, modern style. When Mrs. Fairfax had bidden me a kind good-night, and I had fastened my door, gazed leisurely round, and in some measure effaced the eerie impression made by that wide hall, that dark and spacious staircase, and that long, cold gallery, by the livelier aspect of my little room, I remembered that, after a day of bodily fatigue and mental anxiety, I was now at last in safe haven. The impulse of gratitude swelled my heart, and I knelt down at the bedside, and offered up thanks where thanks were due; not forgetting, ere I rose, to implore aid on my further path, and the power of meriting the kindness which seemed so frankly offered me before it was earned. My couch had no thorns in it that night; my solitary room no fears. At once weary and content, I slept soon and soundly: when I awoke it was broad day. The chamber looked such a bright little place to me as the sun shone in between the gay blue chintz window curtains, showing papered walls and a carpeted floor, so unlike the bare planks and stained plaster of Lowood, that my spirits rose at the view. Externals have a great effect on the young: I thought that a fairer era of life was beginning for me, one that was to have its flowers and pleasures, as well as its thorns and toils. My faculties, roused by the change of scene, the new field offered to hope, seemed all astir. I cannot precisely define what they expected, but it was something pleasant: not perhaps that day or that month, but at an indefinite future period. I rose; I dressed myself with care: obliged to be plain—for I had no article of attire that was not made with extreme simplicity—I was still by nature solicitous to be neat. It was not my habit to be disregardful of appearance or careless of the impression I made: on the contrary, I ever wished to look as well as I could, and to please as much as my want of beauty would permit. I sometimes regretted that I was not handsomer; I sometimes wished to have rosy cheeks, a straight nose, and small cherry mouth; I desired to be tall, stately, and finely developed in figure; I felt it a misfortune that I was so little, so pale, and had features so irregular and so marked. And why had I these aspirations and these regrets? It would be difficult to say: I could not then distinctly say it to myself; yet I had a reason, and a logical, natural reason too. However, when I had brushed my hair very smooth, and put on my black frock—which, Quakerlike as it was, at least had the merit of fitting to a nicety—and adjusted my clean white tucker, I thought I should do respectably enough to appear before Mrs. Fairfax, and that my new pupil would not at least recoil from me with antipathy. Having opened my chamber window, and seen that I left all things straight and neat on the toilet table, I ventured forth. Traversing the long and matted gallery, I descended the slippery steps of oak; then I gained the hall: I halted there a minute; I looked at some pictures on the walls (one, I remember, represented a grim man in a cuirass, and one a lady with powdered hair and a pearl necklace), at a bronze lamp pendent from the ceiling, at a great clock whose case was of oak curiously carved, and ebon black with time and rubbing. Everything appeared very stately and imposing to me; but then I was so little accustomed to grandeur. The hall-door, which was half of glass, stood open; I stepped over the threshold. It was a fine autumn morning; the early sun shone serenely on embrowned groves and still green fields; advancing on to the lawn, I looked up and surveyed the front of the mansion. It was three storeys high, of proportions not vast, though considerable: a gentleman's manor-house, not a nobleman's seat: battlements round the top gave it a picturesque look. Its grey front stood out well from the background of a rookery, whose cawing tenants were now on the wing: they flew over the lawn and grounds to alight in a great meadow, from which these were separated by a sunk fence, and where an array of mighty old thorn trees, strong, knotty, and broad as oaks, at once explained the etymology of the mansion's designation. Farther off were hills: not so lofty as those round Lowood, nor so craggy, nor so like barriers of separation from the living world; but yet quiet and lonely hills enough, and seeming to embrace Thornfield with a seclusion I had not expected to find existent so near the stirring locality of Millcote. A little hamlet, whose roofs were blent with trees, straggled up the side of one of these hills; the church of the district stood nearer Thornfield: its old tower-top looked over a knoll between the house and gates. I was yet enjoying the calm prospect and pleasant fresh air, yet listening with delight to the cawing of the rooks, yet surveying the wide, hoary front of the hall, and thinking what a great place it was for one lonely little dame like Mrs. Fairfax to inhabit, when that lady appeared at the door. “What!

out already?” said she. “I see you are an early riser.” I went up to her, and was received with an affable kiss and shake of the hand. “How do you like Thornfield?” she asked.

I told her I liked it very much. “Yes,” she said, “it is a pretty place; but I fear it will be getting out of order, unless Mr. Rochester should take it into his head to come and reside here permanently; or, at least, visit it rather oftener: great houses and fine grounds require the presence of the proprietor.” “Mr.

Rochester!” I exclaimed. “Who is he?” “The owner of Thornfield,” she responded quietly. “Did you not know he was called Rochester?” Of course I did not—I had never heard of him before; but the old lady seemed to regard his existence as a universally understood fact, with which everybody must be acquainted by instinct. “I thought,” I continued, “Thornfield belonged to you.” “To me?

Bless you, child; what an idea! To me! I am only the housekeeper—the manager. To be sure I am distantly related to the Rochesters by the mother's side, or at least my husband was; he was a clergyman, incumbent of Hay—that little village yonder on the hill—and that church near the gates was his. The present Mr. Rochester's mother was a Fairfax, and second cousin to my husband: but I never presume on the connection—in fact, it is nothing to me; I consider myself quite in the light of an ordinary housekeeper: my employer is always civil, and I expect nothing more.” “And the little girl—my pupil!”

“She is Mr. Rochester's ward; he commissioned me to find a governess for her. He intended to have her brought up in ---shire, I believe. Here she comes, with her ‘bonne,' as she calls her nurse.” The enigma then was explained: this affable and kind little widow was no great dame; but a dependant like myself. I did not like her the worse for that; on the contrary, I felt better pleased than ever. The equality between her and me was real; not the mere result of condescension on her part: so much the better—my position was all the freer. As I was meditating on this discovery, a little girl, followed by her attendant, came running up the lawn. I looked at my pupil, who did not at first appear to notice me: she was quite a child, perhaps seven or eight years old, slightly built, with a pale, small-featured face, and a redundancy of hair falling in curls to her waist. “Good morning, Miss Adela,” said Mrs. Fairfax. “Come and speak to the lady who is to teach you, and to make you a clever woman some day.” She approached. “C'est là ma gouverante!” said she, pointing to me, and addressing her nurse; who answered— “Mais oui, certainement.”

“Are they foreigners?” I inquired, amazed at hearing the French language. “The nurse is a foreigner, and Adela was born on the Continent; and, I believe, never left it till within six months ago. When she first came here she could speak no English; now she can make shift to talk it a little: I don't understand her, she mixes it so with French; but you will make out her meaning very well, I dare say.”

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CHAPTER XI-a KAPITEL XI-a CAPÍTULO XI-a CAPÍTULO XI-A ГЛАВА XI-а BÖLÜM XI-a

A new chapter in a novel is something like a new scene in a play; and when I draw up the curtain this time, reader, you must fancy you see a room in the George Inn at Millcote, with such large figured papering on the walls as inn rooms have; such a carpet, such furniture, such ornaments on the mantelpiece, such prints, including a portrait of George the Third, and another of the Prince of Wales, and a representation of the death of Wolfe. ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||wallpaper|||||||||||||||||shelf above fireplace|||||||||||||||||||||||| Un nouveau chapitre dans un roman est quelque chose comme une nouvelle scène dans une pièce de théâtre; et quand je lève le rideau cette fois, lecteur, vous devez avoir l'imagination de voir une chambre de l'auberge George à Millcote, avec des papiers peints sur les murs aussi grands que les chambres d'auberge; un tel tapis, de tels meubles, de tels ornements sur la cheminée, de telles gravures, y compris un portrait de George III et un autre du prince de Galles, et une représentation de la mort de Wolfe. All this is visible to you by the light of an oil lamp hanging from the ceiling, and by that of an excellent fire, near which I sit in my cloak and bonnet; my muff and umbrella lie on the table, and I am warming away the numbness and chill contracted by sixteen hours' exposure to the rawness of an October day: I left Lowton at four o’clock a.m., and the Millcote town clock is now just striking eight. ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||bonnet = a type of hat||muff = fur hand warmer|||||||||||||numbness|||||||exposure|||rawness|||||||||||||||||||||| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||coldness|||gained from|||||||coldness|||||||||||||||||||||| Tout cela vous est visible à la lumière d'une lampe à huile suspendue au plafond, et à celle d'un excellent feu, près duquel je m'assois dans mon manteau et mon bonnet; mon manchon et mon parapluie reposent sur la table, et je réchauffe l'engourdissement et le froid contractés par seize heures d'exposition à la crudité d'un jour d'octobre: j'ai quitté Lowton à quatre heures du matin, et l'horloge de la ville de Millcote est maintenant juste frappant huit. Reader, though I look comfortably accommodated, I am not very tranquil in my mind. ||||||||||calm||| Lecteur, même si j'ai l'air confortablement installé, je ne suis pas très tranquille dans mon esprit. I thought when the coach stopped here there would be some one to meet me; I looked anxiously round as I descended the wooden steps the “boots” placed for my convenience, expecting to hear my name pronounced, and to see some description of carriage waiting to convey me to Thornfield. |||||||||||||||||||||descended|||||||||||||||||||||||||||| J'ai pensé que lorsque l'entraîneur s'arrêterait ici, il y aurait quelqu'un pour me rencontrer; Je regardai anxieusement autour de moi en descendant les marches en bois que les «bottes» placaient pour ma commodité, m'attendant à entendre mon nom prononcé et à voir une description de la voiture qui m'attendait à Thornfield. Nothing of the sort was visible; and when I asked a waiter if any one had been to inquire after a Miss Eyre, I was answered in the negative: so I had no resource but to request to be shown into a private room: and here I am waiting, while all sorts of doubts and fears are troubling my thoughts. |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||disturbing|| Rien de tel n'était visible; et quand j'ai demandé à un serveur si quelqu'un était allé s'enquérir d'une miss Eyre, on m'a répondu par la négative: je n'avais donc d'autre ressource que de demander à être conduit dans une chambre privée: et ici j'attends, pendant que toutes sortes des doutes et des peurs troublent mes pensées. It is a very strange sensation to inexperienced youth to feel itself quite alone in the world, cut adrift from every connection, uncertain whether the port to which it is bound can be reached, and prevented by many impediments from returning to that it has quitted. ||||||||||||||||||в свободном плавании||||||||||||||||||||препятствиями|||||||покинуло ||||||||||||||||||adrift||||||||||||||||||||impediments||||||| C'est une sensation très étrange pour une jeunesse inexpérimentée de se sentir tout à fait seule au monde, coupée à la dérive de toute connexion, incertaine si le port auquel elle est liée peut être atteinte et empêchée par de nombreux obstacles de revenir à celle qu'elle a quittée. The charm of adventure sweetens that sensation, the glow of pride warms it; but then the throb of fear disturbs it; and fear with me became predominant when half-an-hour elapsed and still I was alone. |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||прошло||||| Le charme de l'aventure adoucit cette sensation, l'éclat de l'orgueil la réchauffe; mais alors le battement de peur le dérange; et la peur avec moi est devenue prédominante lorsqu'une demi-heure s'est écoulée et que j'étais toujours seul. I bethought myself to ring the bell. J'ai pensé à sonner la cloche. “Is there a place in this neighbourhood called Thornfield?” I asked of the waiter who answered the summons. «Y a-t-il un endroit dans ce quartier appelé Thornfield?» J'ai demandé au serveur qui a répondu à la convocation. “Thornfield?

I don’t know, ma’am; I’ll inquire at the bar.”  He vanished, but reappeared instantly— “Is your name Eyre, Miss?”

“Yes.”

“Person here waiting for you.”

I jumped up, took my muff and umbrella, and hastened into the inn-passage: a man was standing by the open door, and in the lamp-lit street I dimly saw a one-horse conveyance. ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||одноконная пов Je sautai, pris mon manchon et mon parapluie, et me précipitai dans le passage de l'auberge: un homme se tenait près de la porte ouverte, et dans la rue éclairée par des lampes, je vis faiblement un véhicule à un cheval. “This will be your luggage, I suppose?” said the man rather abruptly when he saw me, pointing to my trunk in the passage. |||||||||||bruscamente||||||||||| “Yes.”  He hoisted it on to the vehicle, which was a sort of car, and then I got in; before he shut me up, I asked him how far it was to Thornfield. ||поднял|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| "Oui." Il l'a hissé sur le véhicule, qui était une sorte de voiture, puis je suis monté; avant de me faire taire, je lui ai demandé à quelle distance était Thornfield. “A matter of six miles.”

“How long shall we be before we get there?” «Combien de temps serons-nous avant d'y arriver?»

“Happen an hour and a half.”

He fastened the car door, climbed to his own seat outside, and we set off. Il a fermé la portière de la voiture, est monté à son propre siège à l'extérieur et nous sommes partis. Our progress was leisurely, and gave me ample time to reflect; I was content to be at length so near the end of my journey; and as I leaned back in the comfortable though not elegant conveyance, I meditated much at my ease. |||неторопливый||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| |||with little urgency||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| |||slow and relaxed||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Nos progrès étaient tranquilles et m'ont donné amplement le temps de réfléchir; J'étais content d'être enfin si proche de la fin de mon voyage; et pendant que je me penchais en arrière dans le véhicule confortable mais pas élégant, je méditai beaucoup à mon aise. “I suppose,” thought I, “judging from the plainness of the servant and carriage, Mrs. Fairfax is not a very dashing person: so much the better; I never lived amongst fine people but once, and I was very miserable with them. |||||||||||||||||||яркой|||||||||||||||||||| |||||||||||||||||||stylish||||||||||||||||||unhappy|| |||||||simplicity|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| «Je suppose, pensai-je, à en juger par la simplicité de la servante et de la voiture, Mme Fairfax n'est pas une personne très fringante: tant mieux; Je n'ai jamais vécu parmi de belles personnes qu'une seule fois, et j'étais très misérable avec eux. I wonder if she lives alone except this little girl; if so, and if she is in any degree amiable, I shall surely be able to get on with her; I will do my best; it is a pity that doing one’s best does not always answer. |||||||||||||||||||amichevole||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Je me demande si elle vit seule sauf cette petite fille; si c'est le cas, et si elle est à quelque degré aimable, je pourrai sûrement continuer avec elle; Je ferai de mon mieux; il est dommage que faire de son mieux ne réponde pas toujours. At Lowood, indeed, I took that resolution, kept it, and succeeded in pleasing; but with Mrs. Reed, I remember my best was always spurned with scorn. |||||||||||||||||||||||отвергнуто|| |||||||||||||||||||||||spurned||scorn Chez Lowood, en effet, j'ai pris cette résolution, je l'ai gardée et j'ai réussi à plaire; mais avec Mme Reed, je me souviens que mon meilleur était toujours méprisé. I pray God Mrs. Fairfax may not turn out a second Mrs. Reed; but if she does, I am not bound to stay with her! Je prie Dieu que Mme Fairfax ne produise pas une seconde Mme Reed; mais si elle le fait, je ne suis pas obligé de rester avec elle! let the worst come to the worst, I can advertise again. que le pire vienne au pire, je peux à nouveau faire de la publicité. How far are we on our road now, I wonder?” I let down the window and looked out; Millcote was behind us; judging by the number of its lights, it seemed a place of considerable magnitude, much larger than Lowton. We were now, as far as I could see, on a sort of common; but there were houses scattered all over the district; I felt we were in a different region to Lowood, more populous, less picturesque; more stirring, less romantic. Nous étions maintenant, pour autant que je puisse voir, sur une sorte de commun; mais il y avait des maisons éparpillées dans tout le quartier; Je sentais que nous étions dans une région différente de Lowood, plus peuplée, moins pittoresque; plus émouvant, moins romantique. The roads were heavy, the night misty; my conductor let his horse walk all the way, and the hour and a half extended, I verily believe, to two hours; at last he turned in his seat and said— Les routes étaient lourdes, la nuit brumeuse; mon conducteur a laissé son cheval marcher jusqu'au bout, et l'heure et demie s'est prolongée, je crois en vérité, à deux heures; enfin il se retourna sur son siège et dit: “You’re noan so far fro' Thornfield now.” |not|||from|| |not||||| «Tu n'es plus si loin de Thornfield maintenant. Again I looked out: we were passing a church; I saw its low broad tower against the sky, and its bell was tolling a quarter; I saw a narrow galaxy of lights too, on a hillside, marking a village or hamlet. ||||||||||||||||||||||ringing slowly|||||||||||||||||| J'ai de nouveau regardé: nous passions devant une église; Je vis sa basse et large tour contre le ciel, et sa cloche sonnait un quart; J'ai vu aussi une étroite galaxie de lumières, à flanc de colline, marquant un village ou un hameau. About ten minutes after, the driver got down and opened a pair of gates: we passed through, and they clashed to behind us. |||||||||||||||||||clashed||| Une dizaine de minutes après, le chauffeur est descendu et a ouvert une paire de portes: nous sommes passés et ils se sont affrontés derrière nous. We now slowly ascended a drive, and came upon the long front of a house: candlelight gleamed from one curtained bow-window; all the rest were dark. |||поднимались||||||||||||||||||||||| |||ascended||||||||||||||||||||||| Nous avons maintenant lentement monté une allée, et sommes tombés sur la longue façade d'une maison: la lueur d'une bougie brillait d'un bow-window à rideaux; tout le reste était sombre. The car stopped at the front door; it was opened by a maid-servant; I alighted and went in. La voiture s'est arrêtée à la porte d'entrée; il a été ouvert par une servante; Je suis descendu et suis entré. “Will you walk this way, ma’am?” said the girl; and I followed her across a square hall with high doors all round: she ushered me into a room whose double illumination of fire and candle at first dazzled me, contrasting as it did with the darkness to which my eyes had been for two hours inured; when I could see, however, a cosy and agreeable picture presented itself to my view. |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||привыкли к||||||||||||||| |||||||||||||||||||||||ushered||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||accustomed||||||||||||||| "Elle me conduisit dans une pièce dont le double éclairage du feu et de la bougie m'éblouit d'abord, contrastant avec l'obscurité à laquelle mes yeux avaient été habitués pendant deux heures ; mais quand je pus voir, un tableau agréable et confortable s'offrit à ma vue. A snug small room; a round table by a cheerful fire; an arm-chair high-backed and old-fashioned, wherein sat the neatest imaginable little elderly lady, in widow’s cap, black silk gown, and snowy muslin apron; exactly like what I had fancied Mrs. Fairfax, only less stately and milder looking. ||||||||||||||||||||||most tidy|||||||||||||lightweight fabric||||||||||||||gentler| Une petite pièce confortable; une table ronde près d'un feu joyeux; un fauteuil à dossier haut et à l'ancienne, dans lequel était assise la petite dame âgée la plus soignée que l'on puisse imaginer, en bonnet de veuve, en robe de soie noire et en tablier de mousseline de neige; exactement comme ce que j'avais imaginé Mme Fairfax, seulement moins majestueuse et plus douce. She was occupied in knitting; a large cat sat demurely at her feet; nothing in short was wanting to complete the beau-ideal of domestic comfort. |||||||||скромно|||||||||||||||| Elle était occupée à tricoter; un gros chat s'assit modestement à ses pieds; rien en somme ne voulait compléter le beau-idéal du confort domestique. A more reassuring introduction for a new governess could scarcely be conceived; there was no grandeur to overwhelm, no stateliness to embarrass; and then, as I entered, the old lady got up and promptly and kindly came forward to meet me. |||||||||||conceived||||||||majesty||embarrass||||||||||||||||||| |||||||||||||||||||dignity||||||||||||||||||||| ||||||||||||||||||||||et|||||||||||||||||| Une introduction plus rassurante pour une nouvelle gouvernante pourrait à peine être conçue; il n'y avait aucune grandeur à accabler, aucune majesté à embarrasser; puis, en entrant, la vieille dame s'est levée et a promptement et gentiment avancé pour me rencontrer. “How do you do, my dear?

I am afraid you have had a tedious ride; John drives so slowly; you must be cold, come to the fire.” Je crains que vous n'ayez eu un trajet fastidieux ; John conduit si lentement ; vous devez avoir froid, venez près du feu." “Mrs.

Fairfax, I suppose?” said I. “Yes, you are right: do sit down.”

She conducted me to her own chair, and then began to remove my shawl and untie my bonnet-strings; I begged she would not give herself so much trouble. Elle me conduisit à sa propre chaise, puis se mit à enlever mon châle et à détacher mes cordons de bonnet; J'ai supplié qu'elle ne se donnerait pas autant de problèmes. “Oh, it is no trouble; I dare say your own hands are almost numbed with cold. |||||||||||||intorpidite|| Leah, make a little hot negus and cut a sandwich or two: here are the keys of the storeroom.” |||||sauce|||||||||||||storage room Leah, fais un peu de négus chaud et coupe un sandwich ou deux: voici les clés du cellier. And she produced from her pocket a most housewifely bunch of keys, and delivered them to the servant. Elle sortit de sa poche un trousseau de clés des plus domestiques et le remit au serviteur. “Now, then, draw nearer to the fire,” she continued. «Maintenant, alors, approchez-vous du feu», continua-t-elle. “You’ve brought your luggage with you, haven’t you, my dear?” “Yes, ma’am.”

“I’ll see it carried into your room,” she said, and bustled out. |||brought in||||||||of the room «Je vais le voir emporté dans votre chambre», dit-elle en s'activant. “She treats me like a visitor,” thought I. "Elle me traite comme un visiteur", ai-je pensé.

“I little expected such a reception; I anticipated only coldness and stiffness: this is not like what I have heard of the treatment of governesses; but I must not exult too soon.” |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||exult|| "Je ne m'attendais pas à un tel accueil, je ne m'attendais qu'à de la froideur et de la raideur : ce n'est pas comme ce que j'ai entendu dire du traitement des gouvernantes ; mais je ne dois pas me réjouir trop vite. She returned; with her own hands cleared her knitting apparatus and a book or two from the table, to make room for the tray which Leah now brought, and then herself handed me the refreshments. Elle est revenue; de ses propres mains débarrassé son appareil à tricoter et un livre ou deux de la table, pour faire de la place pour le plateau que Leah apportait maintenant, puis elle-même me tendit les rafraîchissements. I felt rather confused at being the object of more attention than I had ever before received, and, that too, shown by my employer and superior; but as she did not herself seem to consider she was doing anything out of her place, I thought it better to take her civilities quietly. ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||civilities| Je me sentais assez confus d'être l'objet de plus d'attention que je n'en avais jamais reçu auparavant et, cela aussi, montré par mon employeur et mon supérieur; mais comme elle ne semblait pas elle-même considérer qu'elle faisait quoi que ce soit hors de sa place, j'ai pensé qu'il valait mieux prendre ses politesse tranquillement. “Shall I have the pleasure of seeing Miss Fairfax to-night?” I asked, when I had partaken of what she offered me. «Aurai-je le plaisir de voir Miss Fairfax ce soir? Ai-je demandé, quand j'avais pris part à ce qu'elle m'offrait. “What did you say, my dear?

I am a little deaf,” returned the good lady, approaching her ear to my mouth. I repeated the question more distinctly.

“Miss Fairfax?

Oh, you mean Miss Varens! Varens is the name of your future pupil.” |||||||student “Indeed!

Then she is not your daughter?” “No,—I have no family.”

I should have followed up my first inquiry, by asking in what way Miss Varens was connected with her; but I recollected it was not polite to ask too many questions: besides, I was sure to hear in time. |||||||inquiry||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| J'aurais dû donner suite à ma première enquête en demandant de quelle manière miss Varens était en rapport avec elle; mais je me suis souvenu qu'il n'était pas poli de poser trop de questions: d'ailleurs, j'étais sûr d'entendre à temps. “I am so glad,” she continued, as she sat down opposite to me, and took the cat on her knee; “I am so glad you are come; it will be quite pleasant living here now with a companion. "Je suis si heureuse", continua-t-elle en s'asseyant en face de moi et en prenant le chat sur ses genoux ; "je suis si heureuse que vous soyez venu ; il sera très agréable de vivre ici maintenant avec un compagnon. To be sure it is pleasant at any time; for Thornfield is a fine old hall, rather neglected of late years perhaps, but still it is a respectable place; yet you know in winter-time one feels dreary quite alone in the best quarters. |||||||||||||||||neglected = neglected|||||||||||||||||||||||||| Pour être sûr que c'est agréable à tout moment; car Thornfield est une belle vieille salle, plutôt négligée ces dernières années peut-être, mais c'est encore un endroit respectable; pourtant vous savez qu'en hiver, on se sent triste tout seul dans les meilleurs quartiers. I say alone—Leah is a nice girl to be sure, and John and his wife are very decent people; but then you see they are only servants, and one can’t converse with them on terms of equality: one must keep them at due distance, for fear of losing one’s authority. Je dis seul - Leah est une fille gentille bien sûr, et John et sa femme sont des gens très honnêtes; mais alors vous voyez qu'ils ne sont que des serviteurs, et on ne peut pas converser avec eux en termes d'égalité: il faut les garder à distance, de peur de perdre son autorité. I’m sure last winter (it was a very severe one, if you recollect, and when it did not snow, it rained and blew), not a creature but the butcher and postman came to the house, from November till February; and I really got quite melancholy with sitting night after night alone; I had Leah in to read to me sometimes; but I don’t think the poor girl liked the task much: she felt it confining. ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||restricting ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||restrictive Je suis sûre que l'hiver dernier (il a été très rigoureux, si vous vous en souvenez, et quand il ne neigeait pas, il pleuvait et soufflait), aucune créature à part le boucher et le facteur n'est venue à la maison, de novembre à février ; et je suis vraiment devenue très mélancolique à force de rester assise seule nuit après nuit ; Leah venait parfois me faire la lecture ; mais je ne pense pas que la pauvre fille aimait beaucoup cette tâche : elle la sentait enfermée. In spring and summer one got on better: sunshine and long days make such a difference; and then, just at the commencement of this autumn, little Adela Varens came and her nurse: a child makes a house alive all at once; and now you are here I shall be quite gay.” |||||||||||||||||||||начале||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||cheerful Au printemps et en été, on s'entendait mieux : le soleil et les longues journées font une telle différence ; et puis, juste au début de cet automne, la petite Adela Varens est arrivée avec sa nourrice : un enfant rend une maison vivante d'un seul coup ; et maintenant que vous êtes là, je vais être tout à fait gaie." My heart really warmed to the worthy lady as I heard her talk; and I drew my chair a little nearer to her, and expressed my sincere wish that she might find my company as agreeable as she anticipated. ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||expected Mon cœur s'est vraiment réchauffé à l'écoute de la digne dame ; j'ai approché ma chaise un peu plus près d'elle et je lui ai exprimé mon souhait sincère qu'elle trouve ma compagnie aussi agréable qu'elle le prévoyait. “But I’ll not keep you sitting up late to-night,” said she; “it is on the stroke of twelve now, and you have been travelling all day: you must feel tired. «Mais je ne vous garderai pas assis tard ce soir», dit-elle; «C'est sur le coup de midi maintenant, et vous avez voyagé toute la journée: vous devez vous sentir fatigué. If you have got your feet well warmed, I’ll show you your bedroom. I’ve had the room next to mine prepared for you; it is only a small apartment, but I thought you would like it better than one of the large front chambers: to be sure they have finer furniture, but they are so dreary and solitary, I never sleep in them myself.” J'ai fait préparer pour vous la chambre voisine de la mienne ; ce n'est qu'un petit appartement, mais j'ai pensé que vous l'aimeriez mieux que l'une des grandes chambres de l'avant : il est vrai qu'elles sont mieux meublées, mais elles sont si lugubres et si solitaires que je n'y ai jamais dormi moi-même". I thanked her for her considerate choice, and as I really felt fatigued with my long journey, expressed my readiness to retire. |||||внимательной|||||||||||||||| |||||thoughtful|||||||||||||||| Je l'ai remerciée pour son choix attentionné et, comme je me sentais vraiment fatigué par mon long voyage, j'ai exprimé ma volonté de prendre ma retraite. She took her candle, and I followed her from the room. First she went to see if the hall-door was fastened; having taken the key from the lock, she led the way upstairs. Elle alla d'abord voir si la porte d'entrée était fermée; ayant pris la clé de la serrure, elle monta les escaliers. The steps and banisters were of oak; the staircase window was high and latticed; both it and the long gallery into which the bedroom doors opened looked as if they belonged to a church rather than a house. |||||||||||||with a lattice|||||||||||||||||||||||| Les marches et les rampes étaient en chêne; la fenêtre de l'escalier était haute et grillagée; elle et la longue galerie dans laquelle s'ouvraient les portes des chambres semblaient appartenir à une église plutôt qu'à une maison. A very chill and vault-like air pervaded the stairs and gallery, suggesting cheerless ideas of space and solitude; and I was glad, when finally ushered into my chamber, to find it of small dimensions, and furnished in ordinary, modern style. |||||||pervaded = pervaded||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Un air très froid et semblable à une voûte envahissait les escaliers et la galerie, suggérant des idées sans joie d'espace et de solitude; et j'ai été heureux, quand j'ai finalement introduit dans ma chambre, de la trouver de petites dimensions et meublée dans un style ordinaire et moderne. When Mrs. Fairfax had bidden me a kind good-night, and I had fastened my door, gazed leisurely round, and in some measure effaced the eerie impression made by that wide hall, that dark and spacious staircase, and that long, cold gallery, by the livelier aspect of my little room, I remembered that, after a day of bodily fatigue and mental anxiety, I was now at last in safe haven. |||||||||||||||||||||||сгладил|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||fatigue|||ansia|||||||| Quand Mme Fairfax m'avait dit une bonne nuit, et j'avais fermé ma porte, regardé tranquillement autour de moi, et dans une certaine mesure effacé l'impression étrange faite par cette large salle, cet escalier sombre et spacieux, et cette longue et froide galerie , par l'aspect plus vivant de ma petite chambre, je me souvenais qu'après une journée de fatigue corporelle et d'angoisse mentale, j'étais enfin en sécurité. The impulse of gratitude swelled my heart, and I knelt down at the bedside, and offered up thanks where thanks were due; not forgetting, ere I rose, to implore aid on my further path, and the power of meriting the kindness which seemed so frankly offered me before it was earned. |||thankfulness|swelled||||||||||||||||||||||||imploro = I implore||||||||||meriting||||||frankly|||||| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||deserving of|||||||||||| L'impulsion de gratitude a gonflé mon cœur, et je me suis agenouillé au chevet, et j'ai offert des remerciements là où les remerciements étaient dus; sans oublier, avant de me lever, d'implorer l'aide sur mon chemin et le pouvoir de mériter la gentillesse qui me paraissait si franchement offerte avant qu'elle ne fût méritée. My couch had no thorns in it that night; my solitary room no fears. Mon canapé n'avait pas d'épines cette nuit-là; ma chambre solitaire pas de peurs. At once weary and content, I slept soon and soundly: when I awoke it was broad day. A la fois lasse et contente, je dormais vite et profondément: quand je me réveillai, il faisait grand jour. The chamber looked such a bright little place to me as the sun shone in between the gay blue chintz window curtains, showing papered walls and a carpeted floor, so unlike the bare planks and stained plaster of Lowood, that my spirits rose at the view. |||||||||||||||||||хинтз|||||||||||||||||||||||||| |||||||||||||||||||printed fabric|||||||||||||||||||||||||| La chambre m'avait semblé un petit endroit si lumineux alors que le soleil brillait entre les rideaux de fenêtre en chintz bleu gai, montrant des murs tapissés et un sol recouvert de moquette, si différent des planches nues et du plâtre taché de Lowood, que mes esprits se levèrent à la vue. Externals have a great effect on the young: I thought that a fairer era of life was beginning for me, one that was to have its flowers and pleasures, as well as its thorns and toils. внешние факторы||||||||||||справедливее||||||||||||||||||||||| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||spine||toils external factors||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Les extérieurs ont un grand effet sur les jeunes: je pensais qu'une ère de vie plus juste commençait pour moi, celle qui devait avoir ses fleurs et ses plaisirs, ainsi que ses épines et ses peines. My faculties, roused by the change of scene, the new field offered to hope, seemed all astir. |facoltà|||||||||||||||in motion Mes facultés, éveillées par le dépaysement, le nouveau champ offert à l'espérance, semblaient toutes émues. I cannot precisely define what they expected, but it was something pleasant: not perhaps that day or that month, but at an indefinite future period. Je ne peux pas définir précisément ce à quoi ils s'attendaient, mais c'était quelque chose d'agréable: pas peut-être ce jour-là ou ce mois-là, mais à une période future indéfinie. I rose; I dressed myself with care: obliged to be plain—for I had no article of attire that was not made with extreme simplicity—I was still by nature solicitous to be neat. ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||старательный||| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||concerned|||neat Je me levai; Je m'habillais avec soin: obligé d'être simple - car je n'avais aucun vêtement qui ne fût fait avec une extrême simplicité - j'étais toujours par nature soucieux d'être soigné. It was not my habit to be disregardful of appearance or careless of the impression I made: on the contrary, I ever wished to look as well as I could, and to please as much as my want of beauty would permit. |||||||небрежным|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Je n'avais pas l'habitude de ne pas tenir compte de l'apparence ni de me soucier de l'impression que je produisais: au contraire, je voulais toujours regarder aussi bien que je pouvais, et plaire autant que mon manque de beauté le permettait. I sometimes regretted that I was not handsomer; I sometimes wished to have rosy cheeks, a straight nose, and small cherry mouth; I desired to be tall, stately, and finely developed in figure; I felt it a misfortune that I was so little, so pale, and had features so irregular and so marked. |||que||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| J'ai parfois regretté de ne pas être plus beau; Je voulais parfois avoir des joues roses, un nez droit et une petite bouche de cerise; Je voulais être grand, majestueux et finement développé en silhouette; Je sentais un malheur d'être si petit, si pâle, et d'avoir des traits si irréguliers et si marqués. And why had I these aspirations and these regrets? Et pourquoi avais-je ces aspirations et ces regrets ? It would be difficult to say: I could not then distinctly say it to myself; yet I had a reason, and a logical, natural reason too. Il serait difficile de dire: je ne pourrais pas alors me le dire distinctement; pourtant j'avais une raison, et une raison logique et naturelle aussi. However, when I had brushed my hair very smooth, and put on my black frock—which, Quakerlike as it was, at least had the merit of fitting to a nicety—and adjusted my clean white tucker, I thought I should do respectably enough to appear before Mrs. Fairfax, and that my new pupil would not at least recoil from me with antipathy. ||||||||||||||||in a Quaker style|||||||||||||exactness||||||||||||||||||||||||||||shrink back|||| Cependant, quand j'avais brossé mes cheveux très lisses, et mis ma robe noire - qui, comme Quaker comme elle était, avait au moins le mérite de s'ajuster à une finesse - et ajusté mon tucker blanc propre, j'ai pensé que je devrais faire assez respectablement de comparaître devant Mme Fairfax, et que mon nouvel élève ne me reculerait pas au moins avec antipathie. Having opened my chamber window, and seen that I left all things straight and neat on the toilet table, I ventured forth. ||||||||||||||||||||I ventured|out Après avoir ouvert la fenêtre de ma chambre et vu que je laissais tout droit sur la table des toilettes, je m'aventurai. Traversing the long and matted gallery, I descended the slippery steps of oak; then I gained the hall: I halted there a minute; I looked at some pictures on the walls (one, I remember, represented a grim man in a cuirass, and one a lady with powdered hair and a pearl necklace), at a bronze lamp pendent from the ceiling, at a great clock whose case was of oak curiously carved, and ebon black with time and rubbing. ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||латный доспех||||||||||||||||подвешенная||||||||||||||||||||| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||black|||||rubbing ||||tangled||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||chest armor||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||ebony||||| Traversant la longue galerie feutrée, je descendis les marches glissantes de chêne; puis j'ai gagné la salle: je m'y suis arrêté une minute; J'ai regardé quelques photos sur les murs (une, je me souviens, représentait un homme sombre dans une cuirasse, et une une dame aux cheveux poudrés et un collier de perles), à une lampe en bronze suspendue au plafond, à une grande horloge dont le boîtier était en chêne curieusement sculpté, et noir d'ébène avec le temps et le frottement. Everything appeared very stately and imposing to me; but then I was so little accustomed to grandeur. Tout me paraissait très majestueux et imposant, mais j'étais si peu habitué à la grandeur. The hall-door, which was half of glass, stood open; I stepped over the threshold. La porte du hall, qui était à moitié en verre, restait ouverte; J'ai franchi le seuil. It was a fine autumn morning; the early sun shone serenely on embrowned groves and still green fields; advancing on to the lawn, I looked up and surveyed the front of the mansion. ||||||||||||brownish|||||||||||||||||||| C'était un beau matin d'automne; le soleil matinal brillait sereinement sur les bosquets embrassés et les champs encore verts; avançant sur la pelouse, je levai les yeux et inspectai l'avant du manoir. It was three storeys high, of proportions not vast, though considerable: a gentleman’s manor-house, not a nobleman’s seat: battlements round the top gave it a picturesque look. Elle était haute de trois étages, de proportions peu vastes, quoique considérables: un manoir de gentilhomme, pas un siège de noble: des créneaux autour du sommet lui donnaient un aspect pittoresque. Its grey front stood out well from the background of a rookery, whose cawing tenants were now on the wing: they flew over the lawn and grounds to alight in a great meadow, from which these were separated by a sunk fence, and where an array of mighty old thorn trees, strong, knotty, and broad as oaks, at once explained the etymology of the mansion’s designation. |||||||||||гнездовье||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||терн|||||||||||||||| ||||||||||||||tenants||||||||||||||||||meadow||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||field||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Son front gris se détachait bien du fond d'une colonie, dont les locataires croassants étaient maintenant sur l'aile: ils ont survolé la pelouse et le terrain pour se poser dans une grande prairie, dont ils étaient séparés par une clôture coulée, et où un tableau de puissants vieux arbres épineux, forts, noueux et larges comme des chênes, expliquaient aussitôt l'étymologie de la désignation du manoir. Farther off were hills: not so lofty as those round Lowood, nor so craggy, nor so like barriers of separation from the living world; but yet quiet and lonely hills enough, and seeming to embrace Thornfield with a seclusion I had not expected to find existent so near the stirring locality of Millcote. |||||||||||||скалистые||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ||||||||||||||||||||da|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Plus loin, il y avait des collines: pas aussi hautes que celles autour de Lowood, ni si escarpées, ni si semblables à des barrières de séparation du monde vivant; mais pourtant des collines assez calmes et solitaires, et semblant embrasser Thornfield avec une isolement que je ne m'attendais pas à trouver si près de l'agitation de Millcote. A little hamlet, whose roofs were blent with trees, straggled up the side of one of these hills; the church of the district stood nearer Thornfield: its old tower-top looked over a knoll between the house and gates. ||hamlet|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Un petit hameau, dont les toits étaient mêlés d'arbres, traînait sur le flanc d'une de ces collines; L'église du quartier se tenait plus près de Thornfield: son vieux sommet de la tour donnait sur une butte entre la maison et les portes. I was yet enjoying the calm prospect and pleasant fresh air, yet listening with delight to the cawing of the rooks, yet surveying the wide, hoary front of the hall, and thinking what a great place it was for one lonely little dame like Mrs. Fairfax to inhabit, when that lady appeared at the door. |||||||||||||||||||||||||серый||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ||||||||||||||||||||birds|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| J'appréciais encore la perspective calme et l'air frais agréable, tout en écoutant avec plaisir les croassements des tours, tout en surveillant la large et lugubre façade de la salle, et en pensant à quel endroit c'était génial pour une petite fille solitaire comme Mrs. Fairfax à habiter, quand cette dame est apparue à la porte. “What!

out already?” said she. “I see you are an early riser.”  I went up to her, and was received with an affable kiss and shake of the hand. |||||||||||||||||friendly|||||| "Je vois que vous vous levez tôt." Je m'approchai d'elle et fus reçu avec un baiser affable et une poignée de main. “How do you like Thornfield?” she asked.

I told her I liked it very much. je||||||| “Yes,” she said, “it is a pretty place; but I fear it will be getting out of order, unless Mr. Rochester should take it into his head to come and reside here permanently; or, at least, visit it rather oftener: great houses and fine grounds require the presence of the proprietor.” ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||постоянно|||||||||||||||||| «Oui, dit-elle, c'est un joli endroit; mais je crains qu'elle ne devienne irrecevable, à moins que M. Rochester ne se mette en tête de venir résider ici en permanence; ou, du moins, visitez-le plus souvent: les grandes maisons et les beaux jardins exigent la présence du propriétaire. “Mr.

Rochester!” I exclaimed. “Who is he?” “The owner of Thornfield,” she responded quietly. “Did you not know he was called Rochester?” Of course I did not—I had never heard of him before; but the old lady seemed to regard his existence as a universally understood fact, with which everybody must be acquainted by instinct. ||||||||||||||||||считать||||||||||||||| Bien sûr, je ne l'ai pas fait - je n'avais jamais entendu parler de lui auparavant; mais la vieille dame semblait considérer son existence comme un fait universellement compris, que tout le monde doit connaître par instinct. “I thought,” I continued, “Thornfield belonged to you.” “To me?

Bless you, child; what an idea! To me! I am only the housekeeper—the manager. To be sure I am distantly related to the Rochesters by the mother’s side, or at least my husband was; he was a clergyman, incumbent of Hay—that little village yonder on the hill—and that church near the gates was his. ||||||||||||||||||||||||приходский свящ||||||||||||||||| |||||||||||||||||||||||prete|||||||||||||||||| ||||||||||||||||||||||||pastor||||||over there||||||||||| Certes, je suis éloigné des Rochester du côté de la mère, ou du moins mon mari l'était; il était membre du clergé, titulaire de Hay - ce petit village là-bas sur la colline - et cette église près des portes était la sienne. The present Mr. Rochester’s mother was a Fairfax, and second cousin to my husband: but I never presume on the connection—in fact, it is nothing to me; I consider myself quite in the light of an ordinary housekeeper: my employer is always civil, and I expect nothing more.” |||||||||||||||||presume||||||||||||||||||||||||||polite||||| La mère actuelle de M. Rochester était une Fairfax, et la cousine au second degré de mon mari: mais je ne présume jamais sur le lien - en fait, ce n'est rien pour moi; Je me considère comme une femme de ménage ordinaire: mon employeur est toujours courtois, et je n’attends rien de plus. “And the little girl—my pupil!”

“She is Mr. Rochester’s ward; he commissioned me to find a governess for her. ||||ward = a person especially a minor who is under the protection or care of a guardian||||||||| ||||legal guardian||||||||| «Elle est la pupille de M. Rochester; il m'a chargé de lui trouver une gouvernante. He intended to have her brought up in ---shire, I believe. Il avait l'intention de la faire élever dans le Shire, je crois. Here she comes, with her ‘bonne,' as she calls her nurse.”  The enigma then was explained: this affable and kind little widow was no great dame; but a dependant like myself. ||||||||||||enigma|||||||||widow||||||||| ||||||||||||puzzle|||||||||||||||||| La voici, avec sa «bonne», comme elle l'appelle son infirmière. L'énigme s'expliqua alors: cette petite veuve affable et aimable n'était pas une grande dame; mais une personne à charge comme moi. I did not like her the worse for that; on the contrary, I felt better pleased than ever. Je ne l'aimais pas plus que cela ; au contraire, je me sentais plus heureux que jamais. The equality between her and me was real; not the mere result of condescension on her part: so much the better—my position was all the freer. |||||||||||||снисходительность||||||||||||| |||||||||||||condescension|||||||||||||freer ||comparison of|||||||||||||||||||||||| L'égalité entre elle et moi était réelle; pas le simple résultat de la condescendance de sa part: tant mieux, ma position était d'autant plus libre. As I was meditating on this discovery, a little girl, followed by her attendant, came running up the lawn. Alors que je méditais sur cette découverte, une petite fille, suivie de son accompagnateur, arriva en courant sur la pelouse. I looked at my pupil, who did not at first appear to notice me: she was quite a child, perhaps seven or eight years old, slightly built, with a pale, small-featured face, and a redundancy of hair falling in curls to her waist. |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||избыточность|||||||| Je regardai mon élève, qui ne parut pas au premier abord me remarquer: elle était tout à fait une enfant, peut-être sept ou huit ans, un peu charnue, avec un visage pâle et petit, et une redondance de cheveux tombant en boucles à sa taille. “Good morning, Miss Adela,” said Mrs. Fairfax. “Come and speak to the lady who is to teach you, and to make you a clever woman some day.”  She approached. “C’est là ma gouverante!” said she, pointing to me, and addressing her nurse; who answered— “Mais oui, certainement.”

“Are they foreigners?” I inquired, amazed at hearing the French language. "Ce sont des étrangers ? demandai-je, étonné d'entendre la langue française. “The nurse is a foreigner, and Adela was born on the Continent; and, I believe, never left it till within six months ago. "L'infirmière est une étrangère, et Adela est née sur le continent, qu'elle n'a jamais quitté, je crois, jusqu'à il y a six mois. When she first came here she could speak no English; now she can make shift to talk it a little: I don’t understand her, she mixes it so with French; but you will make out her meaning very well, I dare say.” Quand elle est arrivée ici, elle ne parlait pas anglais; maintenant elle peut se déplacer pour en parler un peu: je ne la comprends pas, elle le mélange tellement au français; mais vous comprendrez très bien sa signification, j'ose dire.