The parson rode a step or two nearer.
牧師騎著馬向他走近一兩步。

'It was only my whim,' he said; and, after a moment's hesitation: 'It was on account of a discovery I made some little time ago, whilst I was hunting up pedigrees for the new county history. I am Parson Tringham, the antiquary, of Stagfoot Lane. Don't you really know, Durbeyfield, that you are the lineal representative of the ancient and knightly family of the d'Urbervilles, who derived their descent from Sir Pagan d'Urberville, that renowned knight who came from Normandy with William the Conqueror, as appears by Battle Abbey Roll?'
“那只是我的一時興致，”他說；然后又稍稍遲疑了一會兒：“那是因?yàn)椴痪们拔覟榱司帉懶碌目な吩诓榭技易V時的一個發(fā)現(xiàn)。我是鹿腳路的考古學(xué)家特林漢姆牧師。德北菲爾德，你真的不知道你是德貝維爾這個古老騎士世家的嫡傳子孫嗎？德貝維爾家是從著名的騎士帕根·德貝維爾爵士傳下來的，據(jù)紀(jì)功寺文檔①記載，他是跟隨征服者威廉王從諾曼底來的?！?/div>

'Never heard it before, sir!'
“過去我從沒聽說過，先生！”

'Well it's true. Throw up your chin a moment, so that I may catch the profile of your face better. Yes, that's the d'Urberville nose and chin - a little debased. Your ancestor was one of the twelve knights who assisted the Lord of Estremavilla in Normandy in his conquest of Glamorganshire. Branches of your family held manors over all this part of England; their names appear in the Pipe Rolls in the time of King Stephen. In the reign of King John one of them was rich enough to give a manor to the Knights Hospitallers; and in Edward the Second's time your forefather Brian was summoned to Westminster to attend the great Council there. You declined a little in Oliver Cromwell's time, but to no serious extent, and in Charles the Second's reign you were made Knights of the Royal Oak for your loyalty. Aye, there have been generations of Sir Johns among you, and if knighthood were hereditary, like a baronetcy, as it practically was in old times, when men were knighted from father to son, you would be Sir, John now.'
“啊，不錯。你把下巴抬起來一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)，讓我好好看看你的臉的側(cè)面。不錯，這正是德貝維爾家族的鼻子和下巴——但有一點(diǎn)兒衰落。輔佐諾曼底的埃斯徹瑪維拉勛爵征服格拉摩甘郡的騎士一共有十二個，你的祖先是他們中間的一個。在英格蘭這一帶地方，到處都有你們家族分支的采地；在斯蒂芬王時代，派普名冊②記載著他們的名字。在約翰王時代，他們的分支中有一支很富有，曾給救護(hù)騎士團(tuán)贈送了一份采地；在愛德華二世時代，你的祖先布里恩也應(yīng)召到威斯敏斯特參加過大議會。你們家族在奧利弗·克倫威爾時代就有點(diǎn)兒開始衰落，不過沒有到嚴(yán)重的程度，在查理斯二世時期，你們家族又因?yàn)閷ν跏抑倚模环鉃榛始蚁饦渚羰?。唉，你們家族的約翰爵士已經(jīng)有好幾代了，如果騎士稱號也像從男爵一樣可以世襲的話，你現(xiàn)在就應(yīng)該是約翰爵士了，其實(shí)在過去的時代里都是世襲的，騎士稱號由父親傳給兒子?！?/div>

'Ye don't say so!'
“可你沒有這樣說過呀！”