幸好我的哈里特姑妈多年前就已过世了。
It is a good thing my aunt Harriet died years ago.
如果她今天还在世，她就没法再就她最喜欢的话题——家庭仆人——发表高见了。
If she were alive today she would not be able to air her views on her favourite topic of conversation: domestic servants.
哈里特姑妈生活在那个悠闲的年代，那时仆人受雇专门操持家务。
Aunt Harriet lived in that leisurely age when servants were employed to do housework.
她有一座宏大而结构蜿蜒的乡间别墅，名叫"盖布尔斯"。
She had a huge, rambling country house called 'The Gables'.
她对这栋房子怀有深厚的感情，因为尽管它远比她所需要的大得多，她仍在丈夫去世很久后执意住在那里。
She was sentimentally attached to this house, for even though it was far too big for her needs, she persisted in living there long after her husband's death.
年老之前，哈里特姑妈过去常常大宴宾客。
Before she grew old, aunt Harriet used to entertain lavishly.
我小时候常常去盖布尔斯做客。
I often visited The Gables when I was a boy.
无论有多少宾客在场，这座大宅总是一尘不染。
No matter how many guests were present, the great house was always immaculate.
镶木地板光可鉴人；高度抛光的银器陈列在晶莹闪亮的玻璃橱柜中；甚至连叔叔那一大批藏书也奇迹般地被保持得纤尘不染。
The parquet floors shone like mirrors; highly polished silver was displayed in gleaming glass cabinets; even my uncle's huge collection of books was kept miraculously free from dust.
哈里特姑妈统领着一支无形的仆人大军，他们不停地刷洗、打扫、擦拭。
Aunt Harriet presided over an invisible army of servants that continuously scrubbed, cleaned, and polished.
她总是称他们为"流动人口"，因为他们来来去去如此频繁，以至于我甚至从来没有机会记住他们的名字。
She always referred to them as 'the shifting population', for they came and went with such frequency that I never even got a chance to learn their names.
尽管姑妈推行的是当时颇为开明的政策——从不允许家务人员每天工作超过八小时——她却极其难以取悦。
Though my aunt pursued what was, in those days an enlightened policy, in that she never allowed her domestic staff to work more than eight hours a day, she was extremely difficult to please.
尽管她总是批评人性的善变，她却坚持不懈地寻觅理想的仆人，直至生命终了，哪怕已被贝西深深地令她幻灭之后也未曾放弃。
While she always criticized the fickleness of human nature, she carried on an unrelenting search for the ideal servant to the end of her days, even after she had been sadly disillusioned by Bessie.
贝西为哈里特姑妈工作了三年。
Bessie worked for aunt Harriet for three years.
在那段时间里，她如此赢得了姑妈的信任，以至于被委以管理家务人员的职责。
During that time she so gained my aunt's confidence, that she was put in charge of the domestic staff.
哈里特姑妈对贝西的勤奋与能干简直找不到词来称赞。
Aunt Harriet could not find words to praise Bessie's industriousness and efficiency.
除了所有其他的优秀素质之外，贝西还是一位烹饪高手。
In addition to all her other qualifications, Bessie was an expert cook.
她扮演完美仆人的角色长达三年，直到哈里特姑妈发现了她那"小小的弱点"。
She acted the role of the perfect servant for three years before Aunt Harriet discovered her 'little weakness'.
离开盖布尔斯一周之后，姑妈在一个下午带着一群客人出乎意料地返回，并吩咐贝西准备晚宴。
After being absent from The Gables for a week, my aunt unexpectedly returned one afternoon with a party of guests and instructed Bessie to prepare dinner.
饭菜不仅远低于平时的水准，贝西甚至连路都似乎走不稳。
Not only was the meal well below the usual standard, but Bessie seemed unable to walk steadily.
她不断撞上家具，还一直喃喃自语地说着宾客们的闲话。
She bumped into the furniture and kept mumbling about the guests.
当她端着最后一道菜——一个巨大的布丁——走进来时，她绊在地毯上，布丁腾空飞出，险些砸中姑妈，最终以巨大的力道砸在餐桌上。
When she came in with the last course--a huge pudding--she tripped on the carpet and the pudding went flying through the air, narrowly missed my aunt, and crashed on the dining table with considerable force.
尽管此事令宾客们大感欢乐，哈里特姑妈却大为震惊。
Though this caused great mirth among the guests, Aunt Harriet was horrified.
她不得不勉强得出结论：贝西是醉了。
She reluctantly came to the conclusion that Bessie was drunk.
宾客们当然早已从贝西为他们开门的那一刻起就察觉到了这一点，而且在最终的"大灾难"发生之前很久，就已经费了老大的劲克制着自己不笑出来。
The guests had, of course, realized this from the moment Bessie opened the door for them and, long before the final catastrophe, had had a difficult time trying to conceal their amusement.
这个可怜的姑娘立即被解雇了。
The poor girl was dismissed instantly.
贝西离开之后，哈里特姑妈发现在曾经是贝西衣柜的地方，整整齐齐地堆放着一摞摞各种形状和大小的空酒瓶。
After her departure, Aunt Harriet discovered that there were piles of empty wine bottles of all shapes and sizes neatly stacked in what had once been Bessie's wardrobe.
它们不知怎么神秘地从酒窖辗转来到了这里！
They had mysteriously found their way there from the wine cellar!