Chapter 1. The Rassendylls -- With a Word on the Elphbergs ||拉森迪尔家族|||拉森迪尔家族|||埃尔夫堡 Kapitel 1: Die Rassendylle - Mit einem Wort zu den Elphbergen Capítulo 1. Os Rassendylls -- Com uma palavra sobre os Elphbergs 第一章 拉森德尔一家——关于埃尔夫山的一句话

"I wonder when in the world you're going to do anything, Rudolf?" |想知道||||||||||鲁道夫 "Ich frage mich, wann du in aller Welt etwas tun wirst, Rudolf?" "Acaba ne zaman bir şey yapacaksın Rudolf?" said my brother's wife. sagte die Frau meines Bruders. "My dear Rose," I answered, laying down my egg-spoon, "why in the world should I do anything? |||||放下|||鸡蛋|勺子|||||||| "Meine liebe Rose," antwortete ich und legte meinen Eierlöffel ab, "warum sollte ich in aller Welt etwas tun? "My dear Rose," I answered, laying down my egg-spoon, "why in the world should I do anything? "Sevgili Rose," diye cevap verdim, yumurta kaşığımı yere bırakarak, "neden bir şey yapayım ki? My position is a comfortable one. |职位|||| I have an income nearly sufficient for my wants (no one's income is ever quite sufficient, you know), I enjoy an enviable social position: I am brother to Lord Burlesdon, and brother-in-law to that charming lady, his countess. |||收入||||||||||||||||享受||令人羡慕的|社交|社会地位||||||伯尔斯登||兄弟|||||迷人的||他的|女伯爵 Ich habe ein Einkommen, das fast ausreicht für meine Bedürfnisse (niemandes Einkommen ist jemals ganz ausreichend, wissen Sie), ich genieße eine beneidenswerte soziale Stellung: Ich bin der Bruder von Lord Burlesdon und Schwager von dieser bezaubernden Dame, seiner Gräfin. İhtiyaçlarıma neredeyse yetecek bir gelirim var (kimsenin geliri asla tam olarak yeterli değildir, bilirsiniz), imrenilecek bir sosyal konumum var: Lord Burlesdon'un kardeşi ve kontesi olan o büyüleyici hanımefendinin kayınbiraderiyim. Behold, it is enough!" 看啊|||足够了 Siehe da, es ist genug!" Voici, c'est assez !" İşte, bu kadar yeter!" "You are nine-and-twenty," she observed, "and you've done nothing but--" ||||||观察到||||| "Du bist neunundzwanzig," bemerkte sie, "und du hast nichts getan außer--" "Vous avez neuf ans et vingt ans", a-t-elle fait remarquer, "et vous n'avez rien fait d'autre que...". "Dokuz yirmi yaşındasın," diye gözlemledi, "ve hiçbir şey yapmadın ama--" "Knock about? 乱跑| "Knock about?" "Frapper à droite et à gauche ? "Takılmak mı? It is true. It is true. Our family doesn't need to do things." Our family doesn't need to do things." Ailemizin bir şeyler yapmasına gerek yok." This remark of mine rather annoyed Rose, for everybody knows (and therefore there can be no harm in referring to the fact) that, pretty and accomplished as she herself is, her family is hardly of the same standing as the Rassendylls. |评论||||烦恼|罗斯|||||因此|||||||提到|||||漂亮的||有成就的|||她自己|||||几乎不||||地位||| Diese Bemerkung von mir hat Rose eher verärgert, denn jeder weiß (und daher kann es nicht schaden, auf die Tatsache hinzuweisen), dass, hübsch und talentiert wie sie selbst ist, ihre Familie kaum den gleichen Stand wie die Rassendylls hat. Bu sözlerim Rose'u biraz kızdırdı, çünkü herkes biliyordu ki (ve bu nedenle bu gerçeği dile getirmekte bir sakınca yoktu) kendisi ne kadar güzel ve başarılı olursa olsun, ailesi Rassendyll'lerle aynı konumda değildi. Besides her attractions, she possessed a large fortune, and my brother Robert was wise enough not to mind about her ancestry. 此外||吸引力||拥有||巨大的||||兄弟||||足够|||介意|||血统 Neben ihren Anziehungskräften besaß sie ein großes Vermögen, und mein Bruder Robert war klug genug, sich nicht um ihre Abstammung zu kümmern. Cazibesinin yanı sıra büyük bir servete sahipti ve kardeşim Robert onun soyunu umursamayacak kadar akıllıydı. Ancestry is, in fact, a matter concerning which the next observation of Rose's has some truth. 祖先||||||关于||||观察||罗斯的|||真相 Abstammung ist tatsächlich eine Angelegenheit, zu der die nächste Bemerkung von Rose einige Wahrheit hat. Aslında soy, Rose'un bir sonraki gözleminin doğruluk payı taşıdığı bir konudur. "Good families are generally worse than any others," she said. |家庭||通常|更糟||||| "Gute Familien sind im Allgemeinen schlimmer als jede andere", sagte sie. Upon this I stroked my hair: I knew quite well what she meant. 在此|||抚摸了|||||||||意思 Daraufhin strich ich mir durch die Haare: Ich wusste sehr gut, was sie meinte. Sur ce, je me suis caressé les cheveux : Je savais très bien ce qu'elle voulait dire. Bunun üzerine saçlarımı okşadım: Ne demek istediğini gayet iyi biliyordum.

"I'm so glad Robert's is black!" "Ich freue mich so, dass Roberts schwarzes Haar hat!" "Robert'ınkinin siyah olmasına çok sevindim!" she cried.

At this moment Robert (who rises at seven and works before breakfast) came in. ||时刻|||起床|||||||| In diesem Moment kam Robert (der um sieben aufsteht und vor dem Frühstück arbeitet) herein. O sırada Robert (yedide kalkar ve kahvaltıdan önce çalışır) içeri girdi. He glanced at his wife: her cheek was slightly flushed; he patted it caressingly. |瞥了一眼|||||脸颊||稍微|脸红的||轻拍||温柔地 Er warf einen Blick auf seine Frau: ihre Wange war leicht gerötet; er tätschelte sie liebevoll. Il jette un coup d'œil à sa femme : sa joue est légèrement rougie ; il la caresse. Karısına baktı: yanağı hafifçe kızarmıştı; okşarcasına okşadı.

"What's the matter, my dear?" "Was ist los, mein Liebling?" he asked.

"She objects to my doing nothing and having red hair," said I, in an injured tone. |反对|||我不做|||有|||||||| "Sie widerspricht dem, dass ich nichts tue und rote Haare habe", sagte ich in verletztem Ton. "Hiçbir şey yapmamama ve kızıl saçlı olmama itiraz ediyor," dedim incinmiş bir ses tonuyla. "Oh! "Oh! of course he can't help his hair," admitted Rose. |||||||承认| "Natürlich kann er nichts für seine Haare", gab Rose zu. Elbette saçlarına engel olamıyor," diye itiraf etti Rose. "It generally crops out once in a generation," said my brother. |通常|作物|||||||| "Es tritt normalerweise alle Generationen einmal auf", sagte mein Bruder. "En général, cela se produit une fois par génération", a déclaré mon frère. "Genellikle bir nesilde bir ortaya çıkar," dedi kardeşim. "So does the nose. |||鼻子 "Das gilt auch für die Nase. "Burun da öyle. Rudolf has got them both." Rudolf hat beides." Rudolf ikisini de aldı." "I wish they didn't crop out," said Rose, still flushed. ||||剪裁|||||脸红的 "Ich wünschte, sie hätten sie nicht weggeschnitten", sagte Rose, noch immer gerötet. "Keşke kırpmasalardı," dedi Rose, hâlâ kızarmış bir halde. "I rather like them myself," said I, and, rising, I bowed to the portrait of Countess Amelia. |相当|||我自己||||站起来||鞠躬|||肖像||阿梅利亚伯爵夫人|阿梅莉亚 "Mir gefallen sie eigentlich selbst," sagte ich und erhob mich, verneigte mich vor dem Porträt von Gräfin Amelia. "Ben de çok beğendim," dedim ve ayağa kalkarak Kontes Amelia'nın portresinin önünde eğildim. My brother's wife uttered an exclamation of impatience. |||发出||感叹词||不耐烦 Die Frau meines Bruders stieß einen ungeduldigen Ausruf aus. Kardeşimin karısı bir sabırsızlık narası attı. "I wish you'd take that picture away, Robert," said she. "Ich wünschte, du würdest dieses Bild wegnehmen, Robert", sagte sie. "Keşke o resmi kaldırsan Robert," dedi kadın. "My dear!" "Mein Lieber!" he cried. |哭了 rief er.

"Good heavens!" |天哪 "Ach du lieber Himmel!" "Aman Tanrım!" I added. fügte ich hinzu.

"Then it might be forgotten," she continued. ||||被遗忘的|| "Dann könnte es vergessen werden," fuhr sie fort. "O zaman unutulabilir," diye devam etti. "Hardly--with Rudolf about," said Robert, shaking his head. ||||||摇头||摇头 "Kaum - mit Rudolf in der Nähe,", sagte Robert und schüttelte den Kopf. Robert başını sallayarak, "Pek sayılmaz, Rudolf buralardayken," dedi. "Why should it be forgotten?" ||||被遗忘的 "Warum sollte es vergessen werden?" "Neden unutulsun ki?" I asked. fragte ich.

"Rudolf!" exclaimed my brother's wife, blushing very prettily. 惊呼道||||脸红||漂亮地 rief die Frau meines Bruders und wurde sehr hübsch rot. diye haykırdı kardeşimin karısı, çok güzel kızararak. I laughed, and went on with my egg. |笑了||||||鸡蛋 Ich lachte und machte mit meinem Ei weiter. Güldüm ve yumurtama devam ettim. At least I had shelved the question of what (if anything) I ought to do. |至少|||搁置|||||||||| Zumindest hatte ich die Frage, was (wenn überhaupt) ich tun sollte, vorerst zurückgestellt. Au moins, j'avais mis de côté la question de savoir ce que je devais faire (si je devais faire quelque chose). En azından ne yapmam gerektiği sorusunu (eğer bir şey varsa) rafa kaldırmıştım. And, by way of closing the discussion--and also, I must admit, of exasperating my strict little sister-in-law a trifle more--I observed: ||||||讨论|||||承认||令人恼怒的||严格的||||||一点点|||观察到 Und um die Diskussion abzuschließen - und auch, muss ich zugeben, meine strenge Schwägerin ein wenig mehr zu verärgern - bemerkte ich: Tartışmayı kapatmak için -ve itiraf etmeliyim ki, katı baldızımı biraz daha kızdırmak için- gözlemledim:

"I rather like being an Elphberg myself." |相当喜欢||身份||埃尔夫堡家族|我自己 "Ich mag es, ein Elphberg zu sein." "Ben de bir Elphberg olmayı tercih ederim." When I read a story, I skip the explanations; yet the moment I begin to write one, I find that I must have an explanation. ||||||跳过||解释|||时刻|||||||||||||解释 Wenn ich eine Geschichte lese, überspringe ich die Erklärungen; doch sobald ich anfange, selbst eine zu schreiben, merke ich, dass ich eine Erklärung brauche. Bir hikaye okuduğumda, açıklamaları atlıyorum; ancak bir hikaye yazmaya başladığım anda, bir açıklamam olması gerektiğini fark ediyorum. For it is manifest that I must explain why my sister-in-law was vexed with my nose and hair, and why I ventured to call myself an Elphberg. |||明显的||||解释|||||||恼怒的|||||||||冒险|||我自己||埃尔夫堡 Denn es ist offensichtlich, dass ich erklären muss, warum meine Schwägerin über meine Nase und Haare verärgert war und warum ich mich wagte, mich einen Elphberg zu nennen. Yengemin burnumdan ve saçlarımdan neden rahatsız olduğunu ve neden kendime Elphberg demeye cesaret ettiğimi açıklamak zorundayım. For eminent as, I must protest, the Rassendylls have been for many generations, yet participation in their blood of course does not, at first sight, justify the boast of a connection with the grander stock of the Elphbergs or a claim to be one of that Royal House. |显赫的||||抗议|||||||||参与|||血统||当然|||||乍一看|证明合理性||自夸|||血统关系|||更宏伟的|血统||||||||||||皇室| Denn so herausragend, wie ich betonen muss, die Rassendylls über viele Generationen hinweg gewesen sind, rechtfertigt die Beteiligung an ihrem Blut natürlich nicht auf den ersten Blick den Anspruch auf eine Verbindung mit dem edleren Geschlecht der Elphbergs oder den Anspruch, ein Mitglied dieses königlichen Hauses zu sein. İtiraf etmeliyim ki, Rassendyll'ler birçok kuşaktır seçkin bir ailedir, ancak onların kanına katılmak, ilk bakışta, Elphberg'lerin daha büyük soyuyla bir bağlantıya sahip olmakla övünmeyi ya da bu Kraliyet Hanedanı'ndan biri olma iddiasını haklı çıkarmaz. For what relationship is there between Ruritania and Burlesdon, between the Palace at Strelsau or the Castle of Zenda and Number 305 Park Lane, W.? ||关系|||之间|鲁里塔尼亚|||之间||||斯特雷尔索|||城堡||泽达||305公园巷||| Denn was für eine Beziehung besteht zwischen Ruritanien und Burlesdon, zwischen dem Palast in Strelsau oder dem Schloss von Zenda und der Nummer 305 Park Lane, W.?

Well then--and I must premise that I am going, perforce, to rake up the very scandal which my dear Lady Burlesdon wishes forgotten--in the year 1733, George II sitting then on the throne, peace reigning for the moment, and the King and the Prince of Wales being not yet at loggerheads, there came on a visit to the English Court a certain prince, who was afterwards known to history as Rudolf the Third of Ruritania. |||||前提|||||必然地||翻出||||丑闻|||亲爱的||||被遗忘的||||||坐在||||王座|和平|统治|||片刻|||||||||存在||||不和|||||||||||某位||||后来|已知的||||鲁道夫|||| Sevgili Leydi Burlesdon'un unutulmasını istediği bir skandalı yeniden gündeme getireceğimi belirtmeliyim. 1733 yılında, İkinci George o sırada tahtta oturuyordu, o an için barış hüküm sürüyordu ve Kral ile Galler Prensi henüz birbirlerine girmemişlerdi ki, daha sonra tarihe Ruritanya'nın Üçüncü Rudolf'u olarak geçecek olan bir prens İngiliz sarayını ziyarete geldi. The prince was a tall, handsome young fellow, marked (maybe marred, it is not for me to say) by a somewhat unusually long, sharp and straight nose, and a mass of dark-red hair--in fact, the nose and the hair which have stamped the Elphbergs time out of mind. |王子||||英俊|||标记||损害||||||||||有点|不寻常地||尖锐的||笔直的||||一团||||||||鼻子||||||印记|||||| Le prince était un grand et beau jeune homme, marqué (ou peut-être entaché, ce n'est pas à moi de le dire) par un nez un peu inhabituellement long, pointu et droit, et une masse de cheveux rouge foncé - en fait, le nez et les cheveux qui ont marqué les Elphbergs à jamais. Prens uzun boylu, yakışıklı bir delikanlıydı; alışılmadık derecede uzun, sivri ve düz bir burnu ve koyu kırmızı saçları vardı (belki de bunu söylemek bana düşmez) -aslında Elphberg'lere zaman içinde damgasını vuran burun ve saçlardı bunlar. He stayed some months in England, where he was most courteously received; yet, in the end, he left rather under a cloud. ||||||||||礼貌地||||||||||| Il séjourna quelques mois en Angleterre, où il fut accueilli avec beaucoup de courtoisie, mais il partit finalement assez mal en point. İngiltere'de birkaç ay kaldı ve burada çok nazik bir şekilde karşılandı; ancak sonunda, bir bulutun altında ayrıldı. For he fought a duel (it was considered highly well bred of him to waive all question of his rank) with a nobleman, well known in the society of the day, not only for his own merits, but as the husband of a very beautiful wife. ||打斗||决斗|||被认为|高度||有教养||||放弃||||||||贵族||||||||||||||优点||||||||| En effet, il s'est battu en duel (on considérait qu'il était très bien élevé de sa part de renoncer à toute question relative à son rang) avec un noble, bien connu dans la société de l'époque, non seulement pour ses propres mérites, mais aussi en tant qu'époux d'une très belle femme. Çünkü sadece kendi meziyetleriyle değil, aynı zamanda çok güzel bir eşin kocası olarak da o günün sosyetesinde iyi tanınan bir soyluyla düello yapmıştı (rütbesiyle ilgili tüm sorulardan feragat etmesi son derece iyi bir davranış olarak kabul ediliyordu). In that duel Prince Rudolf received a severe wound, and, recovering therefrom, was adroitly smuggled off by the Ruritanian ambassador, who had found him a pretty handful. ||决斗|||接收到|||||康复|从中||灵巧地|秘密带走||||鲁里塔尼亚的|大使||||||相当麻烦|一小撮 В этом поединке принц Рудольф получил серьезное ранение и, восстановившись, был искусно вывезен руританским посольством, которое нашло его горстью. The nobleman was not wounded in the duel; but the morning being raw and damp on the occasion of the meeting, he contracted a severe chill, and, failing to throw it off, he died some six months after the departure of Prince Rudolf, without having found leisure to adjust his relations with his wife--who, after another two months, bore an heir to the title and estates of the family of Burlesdon. |贵族|||受伤的|||||||是|寒冷的||潮湿||||||||感染|||||失败||||||||||||离开||||没有|没有||闲暇|||||||||||||生下|||||头衔||地产|||||伯利斯顿 Благородный человек не был ранен в поединке; но утро было сырым и сырым в день встречи, он заболел серьезной простудой и, не сумев справиться с ней, скончался примерно через шесть месяцев после отъезда принца Рудольфа, не найдя времени, чтобы уладить свои отношения с женой -- которая, спустя еще два месяца, родила наследника титула и поместья семьи Барлесдон. This lady was the Countess Amelia, whose picture my sister-in-law wished to remove from the drawing-room in Park Lane; and her husband was James, fifth Earl of Burlesdon and twenty-second Baron Rassendyll, both in the peerage of England, and a Knight of the Garter. |女士|||伯爵夫人||的||||||||移除||||||||||||詹姆斯||伯爵||||||男爵|拉森迪尔|两者|||贵族阶层|||||骑士|||嘉德骑士 Этой дамой была графиня Амелия, чье изображение моя свояченица хотела убрать из гостиной на Парк-Лейн; а ее муж был Джеймс, пятый граф Барлесдон и двадцать второй барон Рассендил, оба в пэридже Англии, и рыцарь Ордена Подвязки. As for Rudolf, he went back to Ruritania, married a wife, and ascended the throne, whereon his progeny in the direct line have sat from then till this very hour--with one short interval. ||||||||||||登基||王位|在此基础上||后代||||||||||||||||间隔 And, finally, if you walk through the picture galleries at Burlesdon, among the fifty portraits or so of the last century and a half, you will find five or six, including that of the sixth earl, distinguished by long, sharp, straight noses and a quantity of dark-red hair; these five or six have also blue eyes, whereas among the Rassendylls dark eyes are the commoner. |最后|||||||画廊|||在中|||肖像||||||世纪|||半|||||||包括||||||显著的|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||更常见 Enfin, si vous vous promenez dans les galeries de Burlesdon, parmi la cinquantaine de portraits du dernier siècle et demi, vous en trouverez cinq ou six, dont celui du sixième comte, qui se distinguent par un nez long, pointu et droit et une abondante chevelure rouge foncé ; ces cinq ou six ont aussi les yeux bleus, alors que chez les Rassendyll, les yeux foncés sont les plus courants.

That is the explanation, and I am glad to have finished it: the blemishes on honourable lineage are a delicate subject, and certainly this heredity we hear so much about is the finest scandalmonger in the world; it laughs at discretion, and writes strange entries between the lines of the "Peerages". |||||||||||||瑕疵|||血统||||||||遗传|||||||||丑闻传播者|||||||审慎||||||||||贵族世系 It will be observed that my sister-in-law, with a want of logic that must have been peculiar to herself (since we are no longer allowed to lay it to the charge of her sex), treated my complexion almost as an offence for which I was responsible, hastening to assume from that external sign inward qualities of which I protest my entire innocence; and this unjust inference she sought to buttress by pointing to the uselessness of the life I had led. ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||加速|||||||内在|||||||||||不公正|推论||||支持||||||||||| On remarquera que ma belle-sœur, avec un manque de logique qui devait lui être particulier (puisqu'il ne nous est plus permis de l'imputer à son sexe), a traité mon teint presque comme une faute dont j'étais responsable, s'empressant de supposer à ce signe extérieur des qualités intérieures dont je proteste l'entière innocence ; et cette injuste déduction, elle a cherché à l'étayer en soulignant l'inutilité de la vie que j'avais menée. Well, be that as it may, I had picked up a good deal of pleasure and a good deal of knowledge. Quoi qu'il en soit, j'ai pris beaucoup de plaisir et j'ai acquis beaucoup de connaissances. I had been to a German school and a German university, and spoke German as readily and perfectly as English; I was thoroughly at home in French; I had a smattering of Italian and enough Spanish to swear by. ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||一知半解|||||||| J'avais fréquenté une école et une université allemandes et je parlais l'allemand aussi facilement et parfaitement que l'anglais ; j'étais parfaitement à l'aise en français ; j'avais quelques notions d'italien et suffisamment d'espagnol pour en jurer. I was, I believe, a strong, though hardly fine swordsman and a good shot. |||||||||剑客|||| I could ride anything that had a back to sit on; and my head was as cool a one as you could find, for all its flaming cover. ||||||||||||||||||||||||||火焰般的| If you say that I ought to have spent my time in useful labour, I am out of Court and have nothing to say, save that my parents had no business to leave me two thousand pounds a year and a roving disposition. |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||漂泊的| Si vous dites que j'aurais dû consacrer mon temps à un travail utile, je suis hors de cause et je n'ai rien à dire, si ce n'est que mes parents n'avaient pas à me laisser deux mille livres par an et un tempérament vagabond. Если вы считаете, что я должен был потратить свое время на полезный труд, то я не имею права суда и не могу ничего сказать, кроме того, что мои родители не имели права оставить мне две тысячи фунтов в год и склонность к странствиям.

"The difference between you and Robert," said my sister-in-law, who often (bless her!) speaks on a platform, and oftener still as if she were on one, "is that he recognizes the duties of his position, and you see the opportunities of yours." Il reconnaît les devoirs de sa position, et vous voyez les opportunités de la vôtre". "To a man of spirit, my dear Rose," I answered, "opportunities are duties." "Nonsense!" said she, tossing her head; and after a moment she went on: "Now, here's Sir Jacob Borrodaile offering you exactly what you might be equal to." ||甩头||||||||||||||||||||||| "A thousand thanks!" I murmured. |低声说

"He's to have an Embassy in six months, and Robert says he is sure that he'll take you as an attache. Do take it, Rudolf--to please me." Now, when my sister-in-law puts the matter in that way, wrinkling her pretty brows, twisting her little hands, and growing wistful in the eyes, all on account of an idle scamp like myself, for whom she has no natural responsibility, I am visited with compunction. ||||||||||||||||扭动||||||渴望的|||||||||||||||||||||||| Lorsque ma belle-sœur aborde la question de cette manière, fronçant ses jolis sourcils, tordant ses petites mains et se montrant mélancolique, tout cela à cause d'une idiote comme moi, pour laquelle elle n'a aucune responsabilité naturelle, je suis pris d'un sentiment de culpabilité. Moreover, I thought it possible that I could pass the time in the position suggested with some tolerable amusement. Therefore I said:

"My dear sister, if in six months' time no unforeseen obstacle has arisen, and Sir Jacob invites me, hang me if I don't go with Sir Jacob!" "Oh, Rudolf, how good of you! I am glad!" "Where's he going to?" "He doesn't know yet; but it's sure to be a good Embassy." "Madame," said I, "for your sake I'll go, if it's no more than a beggarly Legation. "Madame, dis-je, pour vous, j'irai, s'il ne s'agit que d'une mendiante légation. When I do a thing, I don't do it by halves." Quand je fais quelque chose, je ne le fais pas à moitié". My promise, then, was given; but six months are six months, and seem an eternity, and, inasmuch as they stretched between me and my prospective industry (I suppose attaches are industrious; but I know not, for I never became attache to Sir Jacob or anybody else), I cast about for some desirable mode of spending them. Ma promesse était donc faite ; mais six mois sont six mois et semblent une éternité, et, dans la mesure où ils s'étendaient entre moi et mon industrie potentielle (je suppose que les attachés sont industrieux ; mais je n'en sais rien, car je ne suis jamais devenu attaché à Sir Jacob ou à qui que ce soit d'autre), j'ai cherché un moyen souhaitable de les dépenser. And it occurred to me suddenly that I would visit Ruritania. It may seem strange that I had never visited that country yet; but my father (in spite of a sneaking fondness for the Elphbergs, which led him to give me, his second son, the famous Elphberg name of Rudolf) had always been averse from my going, and, since his death, my brother, prompted by Rose, had accepted the family tradition which taught that a wide berth was to be given to that country. Il peut sembler étrange que je n'aie jamais encore visité ce pays ; mais mon père (malgré un penchant sournois pour les Elphberg, qui l'a amené à me donner, à moi, son deuxième fils, le célèbre nom Elphberg de Rudolf) avait toujours été opposé à ce que j'y aille, et, depuis sa mort, mon frère, poussé par Rose, avait accepté la tradition familiale qui enseignait qu'il ne fallait pas s'aventurer dans ce pays. But the moment Ruritania had come into my head I was eaten up with a curiosity to see it. After all, red hair and long noses are not confined to the House of Elphberg, and the old story seemed a preposterously insufficient reason for debarring myself from acquaintance with a highly interesting and important kingdom, one which had played no small part in European history, and might do the like again under the sway of a young and vigorous ruler, such as the new King was rumoured to be. Après tout, les cheveux roux et les longs nez ne sont pas l'apanage de la maison d'Elphberg, et la vieille histoire me paraissait une raison ridiculement insuffisante pour me priver de la connaissance d'un royaume extrêmement intéressant et important, qui avait joué un rôle non négligeable dans l'histoire de l'Europe, et qui pourrait le faire à nouveau sous l'autorité d'un souverain jeune et vigoureux, tel que le nouveau roi était censé être. My determination was clinched by reading in The Times that Rudolf the Fifth was to be crowned at Strelsau in the course of the next three weeks, and that great magnificence was to mark the occasion. At once I made up my mind to be present, and began my preparations. But, inasmuch as it has never been my practice to furnish my relatives with an itinerary of my journeys and in this case I anticipated opposition to my wishes, I gave out that I was going for a ramble in the Tyrol--an old haunt of mine--and propitiated Rose's wrath by declaring that I intended to study the political and social problems of the interesting community which dwells in that neighbourhood. "Perhaps," I hinted darkly, "there may be an outcome of the expedition." "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well,"said I carelessly, "there seems a gap that might be filled by an exhaustive work on--" "Oh! will you write a book?" she cried, clapping her hands. "That would be splendid, wouldn't it, Robert?" "It's the best of introductions to political life nowadays," observed my brother, who has, by the way, introduced himself in this manner several times over. Burlesdon on Ancient Theories and Modern Facts and The Ultimate Outcome, by a Political Student, are both works of recognized eminence.

"I believe you are right, Bob, my boy," said I. "Now promise you'll do it," said Rose earnestly. "No, I won't promise; but if I find enough material, I will." "That's fair enough," said Robert. "Oh, material doesn't matter!" she said, pouting.

But this time she could get no more than a qualified promise out of me. To tell the truth, I would have wagered a handsome sum that the story of my expedition that summer would stain no paper and spoil not a single pen. And that shows how little we know what the future holds; for here I am, fulfilling my qualified promise, and writing, as I never thought to write, a book--though it will hardly serve as an introduction to political life, and has not a jot to do with the Tyrol. Et cela montre à quel point nous ne savons pas ce que l'avenir nous réserve ; car me voici, remplissant ma promesse qualifiée, et écrivant, comme je n'ai jamais pensé l'écrire, un livre - bien qu'il ne serve guère d'introduction à la vie politique, et n'ait pas le moindre rapport avec le Tyrol.

Neither would it, I fear, please Lady Burlesdon, if I were to submit it to her critical eye--a step which I have no intention of taking.