名著阅读

But Florence bloomed there, like the king's fair daughter in the story. Her books, her music, and her daily teachers, were her only real companions, Susan Nipper and Diogenes excepted: of whom the former, in her attendance on the studies of her young mistress, began to grow quite learned herself, while the latter, softened possibly by the same influences, would lay his head upon the window-ledge, and placidly open and shut his eyes upon the street, all through a summer morning;

sometimes pricking up his head to look with great significance after some noisy dog in a cart, who was barking his way along, and sometimes, with an exasperated and unaccountable recollection of his supposed enemy in the neighbourhood, rushing to the door, whence, after a deafening disturbance, he would come jogging back with a ridiculous complacency that belonged to him, and lay his jaw upon the window-ledge again, with the air of a dog who had done a public service.

So Florence lived in her wilderness of a home, within the circle of her innocent pursuits and thoughts, and nothing harmed her. She could go down to her father's rooms now, and think of him, and suffer her loving heart humbly to approach him, without fear of repulse. She could look upon the objects that had surrounded him in his sorrow, and could nestle near his chair, and not dread the glance that she so well remembered.

She could render him such little tokens of her duty and service' as putting everything in order for him with her own hands, binding little nosegays for table, changing them as one by one they withered and he did not come back, preparing something for him every' day, and leaving some timid mark of her presence near his usual seat.

To-day, it was a little painted stand for his watch; tomorrow she would be afraid to leave it, and would substitute some other trifle of her making not so likely to attract his eye. Waking in the night, perhaps, she would tremble at the thought of his coming home and angrily rejecting it, and would hurry down with slippered feet and quickly beating heart, and bring it away. At another time, she would only lay her face upon his desk, and leave a kiss there, and a tear.
但是弗洛伦斯像故事中国王的美丽的女儿一样，在这里茁壮美好地成长着。如果不算苏珊·尼珀和戴奥吉尼斯的话，那么书本、音乐和每天来到的老师是她仅有的真正伴侣。苏珊·尼珀陪同她年轻的女主人一起上课，因此也获得了很多知识。戴奥吉尼斯可能由于同样的影响，变得温和起来了；他整个夏天上午会把头搁在窗台上，一会儿张开着眼睛，一会儿闭着眼睛，平平静静地对着街道；

有时他猛抬起头来，含着极为深意的眼光，目送着一条吵吵嚷嚷的狗，在大车中一路吠叫过去；有时他勃然大怒，莫名其妙地回忆起邻近假想的敌人，猛冲到门口，在那里震耳欲聋地狂吠一阵之后，露出了他那特有的滑稽可笑和得意扬扬的姿态，磨磨蹭蹭地走回来，重新把下巴搁到窗台上，显出一条已为公众立功效劳的狗的神气。

弗洛伦斯就这样生活在她的冷清凄凉的家中，进行着单纯的研究，心中怀着单纯的思想，没有什么东西扰乱她的安宁。她现在可以走到楼下父亲的房间里，想念着他，听凭她热爱的心忍辱含垢地接近他，不用害怕遭到拒绝。

她可以观看他在悲伤中周围的物品，并可以偎依在他的椅子旁边，不用恐惧会碰上她记得清清楚楚的那个眼光。她可以向他表示一点小小的孝敬与关心，比方说亲手为他把一切物品收拾得整整齐齐，并且捆扎花束放在他的桌子上，当它们一支支枯萎了的时候就给换上新鲜的。他没有回来，她就每天为他准备一点东西，在他平常的座位旁边胆怯地留下一点表示她曾到过那里的东西。

今天，是给他的表准备一只小小的油漆的托座；明天她可能害怕把它留在那里会引起他的注意，就换上她所做的其它小玩艺儿。也许，当她半夜里醒来，想到他回到家中，怒气冲冲地把它丢弃的时候，她会趿着拖鞋，心中怦怦直跳地急忙跪下楼去，把它拿走。在其他时候，她会只把脸贴在他的写字台上，留下一个亲吻和一滴眼泪。
背景阅读

本书简介：
《董贝父子》是狄更斯最重要的作品之一，发表于1848年。小说描写了董贝父子公司的盛衰史。董贝是个贪得无厌的大资本家，妻子儿女都成了他追逐利润的工具和摆设。公司经理卡克尔是个奸诈小人，骗取了董贝的信任后又一手造成了他的破产。在现实的教训中，董贝的思想发生了转变。最后，虽然他已无法重整家业，却成全了真正的家庭幸福。

作者简介：

英国小说家查尔斯·约翰·赫芬姆·狄更斯（Charles John Huffam Dickens，1812年2月7日~1870年6月9日） 英国维多利亚时期的著名小说家，他的作品至今依然盛行，并对英国文学发展起到重要影响。 狄更斯1812年出生于英国朴次茅斯（Portsmouth），是海军职员约翰·狄更斯和伊丽莎白·巴洛所生的第二个孩子。狄更斯5岁时全家就迁居占松（Chatham），10岁时又搬到康登镇（Camden Town）。 小时候狄更斯曾经在一所私立学校接受过一段时间的教育，但是12岁时，狄更斯的父亲就因债务问题而入狱，狄更斯也因此被送到伦敦一家鞋油场当学徒，每天工作10个小时。或许是由于这段经历，使得狄更斯的作品更关注底层社会劳动人民的生活状态。 不过后来由于父亲继承了一笔遗产而令家庭经济状况有所好转，狄更斯也才有机会重新回到学校。15岁时他从威灵顿学院毕业，随后进入一家律师行工作，后来又转入报馆，成为一名报导国会辩论的记者。狄更斯并没有接受很多的正规教育，基本上是靠自学成才。