MY Schoolmistress of the Upper First.

我的女先生

Thursday, 27th.

星期四，27日。

My schoolmistress has kept her promise which she made, and came today just as I was on the point of going out with my mother to carry some linen to a poor woman recommended by the Gazette. It was a year since I had seen her in our house. We all made a great deal of her. She is just the same as ever, a little thing, with a green veil wound about her bonnet, carelessly dressed, and with untidy hair, because she has not time to keep herself nice; but with a little less color than last year, with some white hairs, and a constant cough. My mother said to her:—

我和母亲外出，带了些亚麻布给报上记载的穷妇人，正好我二年级时候的女先生，今日准约到家里来访我了。先生不到我家已一年，我们很高兴地招待她。先生的帽子分仍旧罩着绿色的面幕，衣服极朴素，头发也不修饰，她原是没有工夫打扮的。她脸上的红彩比去年似乎薄了好些，头发也白了些，时时咳嗽。母亲问她：

"And your health, my dear mistress? You do not take sufficient care of yourself!"

“那么，你的健康怎样？先生！你如果不再顾着你的身体……”

"It does not matter," the other replied, with her smile, at once cheerful and melancholy.

“一点没有什么。”先生回答说，带着又喜悦又像忧愁的笑容。

"You speak too loud," my mother added; "you exert yourself too much with your boys."

“先生太高声讲话了，为了小孩们太劳累自己的身体了。”母亲又说。

That is true; her voice is always to be heard; I remember how it was when I went to school to her; she talked and talked all the time, so that the boys might not divert their attention, and she did not remain seated a moment. I felt quite sure that she would come, because she never forgets her pupils; she remembers their names for years; on the days of the monthly examination, she runs to ask the director what marks they have won; she waits for them at the entrance, and makes them show her their compositions, in order that she may see what progress they have made; and many still come from the gymnasium to see her, who already wear long trousers and a watch.

真的，先生的声音，听不清楚的时候是没有的。我还记得：先生讲话总是连续着一息不停，弄得我们学生连看旁边的工夫都没有了，她也没坐一会儿。先生不会忘记自己所教过的学生，无论在几年以前，只要是她教过的总还记得起姓名。听说，每逢月考，她都要到校长先生那里去询问他们的成绩的。有时站在学校门口，等学生来了就叫他拿出作文簿给她看，查他进步得怎样了。已经入了中学的学生，也常常穿了长裤子，挂了时计，去访问先生。