真正的怪人从不刻意出风头。
True eccentrics never deliberately set out to draw attention to themselves.
他们对社会习俗漠然置之，却并不意识到自己有任何出格之举。
They disregard social conventions without being conscious that they are doing anything extraordinary.
这种特质总是为他们赢得他人的喜爱与尊重，因为他们为枯燥乏味的日常生活增添了色彩。
This invariably wins them the love and respect of others, for they add colour to the dull routine of everyday life.
直到去世之前，理查德·科尔森一直是我们镇上最知名的人物之一。
Up to the time of his death, Richard Colson was one of the most notable figures in our town.
他是一个精明而富有的商人，但镇上大多数人对他生活的这一面几乎一无所知。
He was a shrewd and wealthy businessman, but most people in the town hardly knew anything about this side of his life.
他被我们大家叫做迪基，而他的古怪早在去世之前很久便已成为传奇。
He was known to us all as Dickie and his eccentricity had become legendary long before he died.
迪基极为厌恶势利眼。
Dickie disliked snobs intensely.
尽管他拥有一辆大轿车，却几乎从不使用，总是喜欢步行。
Though he owned a large car, he hardly ever used it, preferring always to go on foot.
即使大雨倾盆，他也拒绝带雨伞。
Even when it was raining heavily, he refused to carry an umbrella.
一天，他在遭遇了一场特别大的阵雨之后，浑身湿透地走进一家高档店铺。
One day, he walked into an expensive shop after having been caught in a particularly heavy shower.
他想为妻子买一块价值300英镑的手表，但他的模样实在太狼狈，以至于一名店员拒绝接待他。
He wanted to buy a £300 watch for his wife, but he was in such a bedraggled condition that an assistant refused to serve him.
迪基一言不发地离开了商店，随后回来时手里提着一个大布袋。
Dickie left the shop without a word and returned carrying a large cloth bag.
因为袋子极其沉重，他便将它往柜台上一扔。
As it was extremely heavy, he dumped it on the counter.
店员要他离开，但迪基不予理睬，要求见经理。
The assistant asked him to leave, but Dickie paid no attention to him and requested to see the manager.
经理认出了这位顾客是谁，随即道歉不已，并严厉地训斥了那名店员。
Recognizing who the customer was, the manager was most apologetic and reprimanded the assistant severely.
迪基拿到手表时，将那个布袋递给了店员。
When Dickie was given the watch, he presented the assistant with the cloth bag.
里面装着300英镑，全是便士。
It contained £300 in pennies.
他坚持要让那名店员在他离开之前数清楚这些钱——总共30,000枚便士！
He insisted on the assistant's counting the money before he left--30,000 pennies in all!
还有一次，他邀请了若干位重要的艺术评论家参观他私人收藏的现代画作。
On another occasion, he invited a number of important critics to see his private collection of modern paintings.
这次展览在新闻界引起了极大的关注，因为那些画本应是著名艺术家的作品，实际上却都是迪基自己画的。
This exhibition received a great deal of attention in the press, for though the pictures were supposed to be the work of famous artists, they had in fact been painted by Dickie.
他花了整整四年时间策划这个精心设计的玩笑，就是为了证明评论家们并非总是知道自己在说什么。
It took him four years to stage this elaborate joke simply to prove that critics do not always know what they are talking about.