The forests have departed, but some old customs of their shades remain. Many, however, linger only in a metamorphosed or disguised form. The May-Day dance, for instance, was to be discerned on the afternoon under notice, in the guise of the club revel, or 'club-walking', as it was there called.
茂密的森林已經(jīng)消失了，但是森林濃蔭下曾經(jīng)有過的一些古老風俗依然還在。不過風俗猶存，但許多已經(jīng)改換了形式，加上了偽裝。例如，已經(jīng)通知下午舉行的五朔節(jié)舞會，從中就能看見它采用了會社的形式，或者是被當?shù)厝朔Q作“會社游行”的形式。?

It was an interesting event to the younger inhabitants of Marlott, though its real interest was not observed by the participators in the ceremony. Its singularity lay less in the retention of a custom of walking in procession and dancing on each anniversary than in the members being solely women. In men's clubs such celebrations were, though expiring, less uncommon; but either the natural shyness of the softer sex, or a sarcastic attitude on the part of male relatives, had denuded such women's clubs as remained (if any other did) of this their glory and consummation. The club of Marlott alone lived to uphold the local Cerealia. It had walked for hundreds of years, if not as benefit-club, as votive sisterhood of some sort; and it walked still.
對馬洛特村稍為年輕的居民來說，會社游行是一件使他們感興趣的事件，盡管參加游行的人看不出它的真正趣味。它的特點主要不在于它保留了每年排隊游行和跳舞的古風，而在于參加游行的人全是婦女。在男子會社里，這類慶祝雖然逐漸消失，但還不算特別；但是，由于軟弱女子天性羞澀和男性家屬方面的譏笑態(tài)度，已經(jīng)把殘留下來的婦女會社（如果還有其它會社的話）的榮耀和隆盛剝奪干凈了?，F(xiàn)在只有馬洛特村的婦女會社殘存下來，保留著慶祝賽麗斯節(jié)①的古風。它已經(jīng)延續(xù)了好幾白年，如果算不上共濟會，它也是一種供奉上帝的姐妹會；而且它還要繼續(xù)存在下去。

The banded ones were all dressed in white gowns - a gay survival from Old Style days, when cheerfulness and May-time were synonyms - days before the habit of taking long views had reduced emotions to a monotonous average. Their first exhibition of themselves was in a processional march of two and two round the parish. Ideal and real clashed slightly as the sun lit up their figures against the green hedges and creeper-laced house-fronts; for, though the whole troop wore white garments, no two whites were among them. Some approached pure blanching; some were all had a bluish pallor; some worn by the older characters (which had possibly lain by folded for many a year) inclined to a cadaverous tint, and to a Georgian style.
隊伍中的婦女們都身穿白色長袍——這是一種從羅馬舊歷時代就開始流行的歡樂遺風，那時候快樂和五月的時光是同義詞——那個還沒有習慣著眼未來的時代，已經(jīng)把人的感情降低到了單調(diào)乏味的程度。他們最初的表演是排成雙行隊伍繞著教區(qū)游行。太陽照亮了她們的身形，在綠色的樹籬和爬滿藤蘿的房屋前墻的映襯下，理想和現(xiàn)實就稍微顯出一些沖突來；因為盡管整個游行的隊伍都穿著白色服裝，然而她們中間卻沒有兩件的顏色是一樣的。有些近乎純白；有些卻是泛藍的淺白；還有一些已經(jīng)被婦女會的老會員穿得破舊（它們有可能疊起來存放許多年了）而接近了一種灰白的顏色，式樣還是喬治時代的。

In addition to the distinction of a white frock, every woman and girl carried in her right hand a peeled willow wand, and in her left a bunch of white flowers. The peeling of the former, and the selection of the latter, had been an operation of personal care.
除了白色的長袍醒目而外，每一個婦女和姑娘的右手，都拿著一根剝?nèi)チ送馄さ牧鴺渲l，左手里則拿著一束白色的鮮花。剝?nèi)チΦ耐馄?，選擇白色的鮮花，都是每個人自己細心操作的。

There were a few middle-aged and even elderly women in the train, their silver-wiry hair and wrinkled faces, scourged by time and trouble, having almost a grotesque, certainly a pathetic, appearance in such a jaunty situation. In a true view, perhaps, there was more to be gathered and told of each anxious and experienced one, to whom the years were drawing nigh when she should say, 'I have no pleasure in them', than of her juvenile comrades. But let the elder be passed over here for those under whose bodices the life throbbed quick and warm.
在游行的隊伍里，有幾個已到中年甚至還要年老的婦女，她們遭到時光的蝕刻和痛苦的磨難，銀白的鬈發(fā)和滿是皺紋的面孔在輕快活潑的環(huán)境里，顯得叫人好笑，也肯定叫人同情。真實地看來，每一個經(jīng)歷過人間滄桑的人同她們年輕的伙伴比起來，也許更值得搜集她們的材料加以敘述，因為她們要說“生命毫無喜悅”的年月就要來到了。不過還是讓我們把年長的婦女放在一邊，述說那些生命在胸衣下跳動得快速而熱烈的婦女吧。