The name of the eclipsing girl, whatever it was, has not been handed down; but she was envied by all as the first who enjoyed the luxury of a masculine partner that evening. Yet such was the force of example that the village young men, who had not hastened to enter the gate while no intruder was in the way, now dropped in quickly, and soon the couples became leavened with rustic youth to a marked extent, till at length the plainest woman in the club was no longer compelled to foot it on the masculine side of the figure.
無(wú)論如何,那個(gè)獨(dú)占鰲頭的姑娘的名字并沒(méi)有流傳下來(lái);但是她在那天傍晚卻因?yàn)榈谝粋€(gè)得到擁有男舞伴的殊榮而受到大家的羨慕。不過(guò)榜樣自有它的力量,在外人還沒(méi)有進(jìn)入舞場(chǎng)的時(shí)候,鄉(xiāng)村的男青年并不急著進(jìn)去,現(xiàn)在很快都進(jìn)了舞場(chǎng),不久,大多數(shù)成對(duì)的女孩子中就摻進(jìn)來(lái)鄉(xiāng)村小伙子,最后連相貌最平常的婦女也有男子陪著她們跳舞了。

The church clock struck, when suddenly the student said that he must leave - he had been forgetting himself - he had to join his companions. As he fell out of the dance his eyes lighted on Tess Durbeyfield, whose own large orbs wore, to tell the truth, the faintest aspect of reproach that he had not chosen her. He, tool was sorry then that, owing to her backwardness, he had not observed her; and with that in his mind he left the pasture.
教堂的鐘聲敲響了,那個(gè)學(xué)生突然說(shuō)他必須離開(kāi)了——他剛才一直得意忘形——他不得不去追趕他的同伴。在他從跳舞中退出來(lái)時(shí),眼睛看見(jiàn)了苔絲·德北菲爾德,老實(shí)說(shuō),因?yàn)橄惹皼](méi)有選中她,她的一雙大眼睛里含有微微的怨恨。此時(shí),由于她的退縮不前,他也為自己沒(méi)有注意到她而感到遺憾;他心里就帶著這種遺憾離開(kāi)了牧場(chǎng)。

On account of his long delay he started in a flying-run down the lane westward, and had soon passed the hollow and mounted the next rise. He had not yet overtaken his brothers, but he paused to get breath, and looked back. He could see the white figures of the girls in the green enclosure whirling about as they had whirled when he was among them. They seemed to have quite forgotten him already.
因?yàn)樗呀?jīng)耽擱很久了,他就開(kāi)始在通向西邊的小路上飛跑起來(lái),很快就跑過(guò)了一片洼地,到了前面的山坡上。他還沒(méi)有追上他的兩個(gè)哥哥,但是他得停下來(lái)喘一口氣,又回頭看看。他能夠看見(jiàn)姑娘們的白色身影在綠色的舞場(chǎng)上旋轉(zhuǎn)著,就像剛才他在她們中間一起旋轉(zhuǎn)一樣。她們似乎已經(jīng)完全把他忘記了。

All of them, except, perhaps, one. This white shape stood apart by the hedge alone. From her position he knew it to be the pretty maiden with whom he had not danced. Trifling as the matter was, he yet instinctively felt that she was hurt by his oversight. He wished that he had asked her; he wished that he had inquired her name. She was so modest, so expressive, she had looked so soft in her thin white gown that he felt he had acted stupidly.
她們所有的人都把他忘了,也許有一個(gè)姑娘除外。那個(gè)白色的身影離開(kāi)了舞場(chǎng),獨(dú)自一人站在樹(shù)籬旁邊。他從她站的地點(diǎn)上可以看出來(lái),她就是那個(gè)他沒(méi)有同她跳舞的漂亮姑娘。雖然只不過(guò)是一件微不足道的小事,但是他本能地感覺(jué)到,她已經(jīng)因?yàn)楸凰鲆暥獾搅藗?。他真希望他邀?qǐng)過(guò)她;他也真希望曾經(jīng)問(wèn)過(guò)她的名字。她是那樣的羞怯,那樣的富有情感,她穿著那件薄薄的白色袍子,看上去是那樣的溫柔,他感到他剛才沒(méi)有挑選她是太愚蠢了。

However, it could not be helped, and turning, and bending himself to a rapid walk, he dismissed the subject from his mind.
但是,現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)于事無(wú)補(bǔ)了,他轉(zhuǎn)過(guò)身去,彎腰快步向前走去,心里不再想這件事了。

①《駁不可知論》(A Counterblast to Agnosticism),該書名疑為哈代杜撰,與英國(guó)科學(xué)家赫胥黎的“不可知論”有關(guān)。