《一位女士的肖像》是美术作家亨利·詹姆斯的早期代表作中一部杰出的作品。故事讲述了女评价公伊莎贝尔随姨妈从新崛起的美国到古老的欧洲增强见识，由于她的天真、自信和独立，她拒绝了两位富足且有地位的贵族沃伯顿和美国富商古德伍德的追求，在梅尔夫人设的圈套下，嫁给了虚伪的奥斯蒙德，铸成了自己的爱情悲剧。
《一位女士的肖像》是亨利·詹姆斯最负盛名的一部小说，自面世以来，一直备受评论界的推崇，并深受广大读者喜爱。根据本部小说改编的同名电影，中文译名为《淑女本色》。
亨利·詹姆斯（Henry James，1843～1916），杰出的的小说家、文学评论家、剧作家和散文家，在英美两国的文学史上均占有重要地位。其创作以细腻的心理描写和国际主题而闻名。他的著作主要有长篇小说《一个美国人》、《一位女士的画像》等，中短篇小说《黛西·米勒》、《螺丝在旋紧》、《丛林猛兽》等。
Bhapter1
Under certain circumstances there are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea. There are circumstances in which， whether you partake of the tea or not--some people of course never do-the situation is in itself delightful. Those that I have in mind in beginning to unfold this simple history offered an admirable setting to an innocent pastime. The implements of the little feast had been disposed upon the lawn of an old English country-house， in what I should call the perfect middle of a splendid summer afternoon. he shadows on the perfect lawn were straight and angular； they were the shadows of an old man sitting in a deep wickerchair near the low table on which the tea had been served， and of two younger men strolling to and fro， in desultory talk， in front of him. One of them， from time to time， as he passed， looked with a certain attention at the elder man， who，unconscious of observation， rested his eyes upon the rich red front of his dwelling.
The house stood upon a low hill， above the river--the river being the Thames， at some forty miles from London. The house had a name and a history； the old gentleman taking his tea would have been delighted to tell you these things： how it had been built under Edward the Sixth， had offered a night‘s hospitality to the great Elizabeth， had been a good deal bruised and defaced in Cromwell’s wars， and then， under the
Restoration， repaired and much enlarged； and how， finally， after having been remodelled and disfigured in the eighteenth century， it had passed into the careful keeping of a shrewd American banker.
The old gentleman at the tea-table， who had come from America thirty years before， had brought with him， at the top of his baggage， his American physiognomy； and he had not only brought it with him， but he had kept it in the best order. He had a narrow， clean-shaven face， with evenly distributed features， and an expression of placid acuteness. It seemed to tell that he had been successful in life， but it seemed to tell
also that his success had not been exclusive and invidious， but had had much of the inoffensiveness of failure. A beautiful collie dog lay upon the grass near his chair， watching the master‘s face almost as tenderly as the master contemplated the still more magisterial physiognomy of the house； and a little bristling， bustling terrier bestowed a desultory attendance upon the other gentlemen.
One of these was a remarkably well-made man of five-and-thirty， with a face as English as that of the old gentleman I have just sketched was something else； a noticeably handsome face， fresh-coloured， fair， and frank， with firm， straight features， a lively grey eye， and the rich adornment of a chestnut beard.
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第一章
在某些情况下，履行&"下午茶&"礼仪的那个小时是最令人心旷神怡的时光，生活中能够与之媲美的时刻为数极少。有些时候，不论你喝不喝茶——有些人当然是从来不喝的——这种场合本身便是令人愉悦的。在我为这个简单的故事揭开第一页的时候，浮现在我心头的那些情景，为一种无伤大雅的休闲活动提供了一幅绝妙的背景。在英国的一幢古老乡间别墅门前，一场小型茶会所需的器具陈设在草坪上；时值盛夏，阳光绚丽的下午刚好过去一半，我认为这是最为美妙的时刻。美丽的草坪上横卧着几条笔直而瘦削的黑影。其中一条属于一位老人，他坐在一张扶手很高的柳条椅上，旁边是矮小的茶几；还有两条属于两位年轻人，他们正在老人面前来回踱步，偶尔闲谈几句。其中一人每当在老人身旁走过，总要凝神瞧他一眼，但老人没有发觉别人在注视他，目光仍然停留在他的住宅正面的那堵华丽的红墙上。
这幢房子矗立在一个小山岗上，俯瞰下面的河流——那就是泰晤士河，距离伦敦大约四十英里。这是一幢有名目、有来历的房子。那位正在用茶的老先生会兴致勃勃地告诉你：这幢房子建于爱德华六世时期；伟大的伊丽莎白女王曾在这里住过一夜；在克伦威尔战争中，它多处破毁，满目疮痍，直到王政复辟时期才被翻修和扩建：到了十八世纪，它又被改建，变得十分丑陋；最后，它落入一位精明的美国银行家之手，并得到他的精心保护。
坐在茶桌边的年迈绅士是三十年前从美国来的。除了自己的行李以外，他还带来了一副美国人的相貌；他不仅把它带来了，还把它保存得好好的。他生得五官端正，狭长的脸上刮得干干净净，露出一种安详而精明的神情。这张脸庞似乎在告诉人们，他的一生是成功的，但似乎也表示，他的成功并不是一帆风顺、令人妒忌的，而是伴随着很多次无碍大局的失败。一只漂亮的柯利狗躺在他座椅旁边的草坪上，端详着主人的脸庞，它的目光跟主人凝望那幢外表愈发威严的住宅的目光同样温柔；还有一只长毛小猎狗，不时漫不经心地围绕着另外两位绅士跑来跑去。
他们中的一人年约三十五岁，风度翩翩，长着一张英国式的脸庞，与我刚才描绘的那位老先生的脸庞正好形成鲜明对照；这是一张非常英俊的脸庞，清新秀美，神态坦诫，脸上的线条笔挺有力，灰色的眼睛充满生气，下巴上缀有一簇浓密的栗色胡须。
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