05-04-远离尘嚣 [18]
一个素不相识的女人。他醒得很早，一眼就看到床边桌子上那张情人卡，和红色封蜡上面的字。
“和我结婚吧，”他默默地重复着。他烦燥不安无法成眠，所以出去散步。他看着太阳在白雪覆盖的田野上升起。在回家的路上，他碰见了邮递员，邮递员给了他一封信。他立刻接住并打开了信，以为是寄情人卡的人写来的信。
“先生，我想信不是寄给你的，”邮递员说，“是给你的牧羊人的。”
伯德伍德看着信封上的地址：
给新来的牧羊人，
威瑟伯里农场，
卡斯特桥附近。
“哎，错了！不是我的，也不是给我的牧羊人的。一定是给伊芙丁小姐的牧羊人的。他叫盖伯瑞尔·奥克。”
这时，他注意到远处有一个人影。
“欧，他就在那儿，”伯德伍德接着说。“我自己给他把信送去。”牧羊人向着酒店走去，伯德伍德手里拿着信，追他去了。
■ 6 Fanny's mistake
At the malthouse the men were discussing Bathsheba. ‘How's she getting on without a farm manager？’the old maltster asked the younger men.
‘She can't manage the farm alone，’replied Jacob，‘and she won't listen to our advice. Proud，she is. I've often said it，’
‘You have，Jacob，you have，that's true，’agreed little Joseph Poorgrass.
‘But she's intelligent，’said Billy Smallbury，‘and must have some common sense. ’
‘It seems her old uncle's furniture wasn't good enough for her，’said the maltster‘I hear she's bought new beds，chairs and a piano！If she's a farmer，why does she want a piano？ ’
Just then they heard a heavy footstep outside，and a voice called，‘Neighbours，can I bring a few lambs in there？’
‘Of course，shepherd，’they all replied.
Gabriel appeared in the doorway，his cheeks red and his healthy face shining. On his shoulders were four half－dead lambs，which he put down carefully，close to the fire.
‘I haven't got a shepherd's hut here，as I used to have at Norcombe，’he explained. ‘These new lambs would die if I couldn't keep them warm for a while. It's very kind of you，maltster，to let me bring them in here. ’
‘We've been talking of the mistress，and her strange behaviour，shepherd，’said the maltster.
‘What have you been saying about her？’asked Gabriel sharply，turning to the others. ‘I suppose you've been speak- ing against her？’he added angrily to Joseph Poorgrass.
‘No，no，not a word，’said Joseph，trembling and blushing with terror.
‘well，look here，neighbours. ’Gabriel，although normally one of the quietest and most gentle men on earth，had sudden－ly become aggressive. ‘The first man I hear saying anything bad about our mistress will receive this in his face，’and he banged his great heavy hand down on the maltster's table.
‘Now don't get so angry，shepherd，and sit down！’said Jacob.
‘We hear you're a very clever man，shepherd，’added Joseph Poorgrass from behind the maltster's bed，where he had been hiding. ‘We all wish we were as clever as you，don't we，neighbours？’There was general agreement.
‘I think mistress ought to have made you her farm manager，you're so suitable for the job，’continued Joseph. He could see that Gabriel was no longer angry.
‘I don't mind confessing I was hoping to be her farm man－ ager，’said Gabriel in his honest way. ‘But Miss Everdene can do as she likes，and she's chosen to manage her own farm—and keep me as an ordinary shepherd only. ’He sounded rather depressed，and looked sadly into the fire.
Before anyone could reply，the door opened and Mr Bold－ wood came in. He greeted them all and handed the letter to Gabriel.
‘I opened this by mistake，Oak，’he said，‘but it must be for you. I'm sorry. ’
“和我结婚吧，”他默默地重复着。他烦燥不安无法成眠，所以出去散步。他看着太阳在白雪覆盖的田野上升起。在回家的路上，他碰见了邮递员，邮递员给了他一封信。他立刻接住并打开了信，以为是寄情人卡的人写来的信。
“先生，我想信不是寄给你的，”邮递员说，“是给你的牧羊人的。”
伯德伍德看着信封上的地址：
给新来的牧羊人，
威瑟伯里农场，
卡斯特桥附近。
“哎，错了！不是我的，也不是给我的牧羊人的。一定是给伊芙丁小姐的牧羊人的。他叫盖伯瑞尔·奥克。”
这时，他注意到远处有一个人影。
“欧，他就在那儿，”伯德伍德接着说。“我自己给他把信送去。”牧羊人向着酒店走去，伯德伍德手里拿着信，追他去了。
■ 6 Fanny's mistake
At the malthouse the men were discussing Bathsheba. ‘How's she getting on without a farm manager？’the old maltster asked the younger men.
‘She can't manage the farm alone，’replied Jacob，‘and she won't listen to our advice. Proud，she is. I've often said it，’
‘You have，Jacob，you have，that's true，’agreed little Joseph Poorgrass.
‘But she's intelligent，’said Billy Smallbury，‘and must have some common sense. ’
‘It seems her old uncle's furniture wasn't good enough for her，’said the maltster‘I hear she's bought new beds，chairs and a piano！If she's a farmer，why does she want a piano？ ’
Just then they heard a heavy footstep outside，and a voice called，‘Neighbours，can I bring a few lambs in there？’
‘Of course，shepherd，’they all replied.
Gabriel appeared in the doorway，his cheeks red and his healthy face shining. On his shoulders were four half－dead lambs，which he put down carefully，close to the fire.
‘I haven't got a shepherd's hut here，as I used to have at Norcombe，’he explained. ‘These new lambs would die if I couldn't keep them warm for a while. It's very kind of you，maltster，to let me bring them in here. ’
‘We've been talking of the mistress，and her strange behaviour，shepherd，’said the maltster.
‘What have you been saying about her？’asked Gabriel sharply，turning to the others. ‘I suppose you've been speak- ing against her？’he added angrily to Joseph Poorgrass.
‘No，no，not a word，’said Joseph，trembling and blushing with terror.
‘well，look here，neighbours. ’Gabriel，although normally one of the quietest and most gentle men on earth，had sudden－ly become aggressive. ‘The first man I hear saying anything bad about our mistress will receive this in his face，’and he banged his great heavy hand down on the maltster's table.
‘Now don't get so angry，shepherd，and sit down！’said Jacob.
‘We hear you're a very clever man，shepherd，’added Joseph Poorgrass from behind the maltster's bed，where he had been hiding. ‘We all wish we were as clever as you，don't we，neighbours？’There was general agreement.
‘I think mistress ought to have made you her farm manager，you're so suitable for the job，’continued Joseph. He could see that Gabriel was no longer angry.
‘I don't mind confessing I was hoping to be her farm man－ ager，’said Gabriel in his honest way. ‘But Miss Everdene can do as she likes，and she's chosen to manage her own farm—and keep me as an ordinary shepherd only. ’He sounded rather depressed，and looked sadly into the fire.
Before anyone could reply，the door opened and Mr Bold－ wood came in. He greeted them all and handed the letter to Gabriel.
‘I opened this by mistake，Oak，’he said，‘but it must be for you. I'm sorry. ’