It is a good thing my aunt Harriet died years ago. If she were alive today she would not be able to air her views on her favorite topic of conversation: domestic servants.
    多年以前我姑姑哈雷特去世了真是个好事。如果她还活到今天的话，她可能无法就她热衷的话题“佣人”发表评论了。
    PS: air one’s views on, 就…发表评论

    Aunt Harriet lived in that leisurely age when servants were employed to do housework. She had a huge, rambling country house called “The Gables”. 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.
    哈雷特姑姑活在一个悠闲的年代，那时候可以雇佣女佣来做家务。她在乡下有一个巨大杂乱的房子，叫做“山墙庄园”。她对这里非常钟爱，虽然房子大到远超她的需求，她仍然在丈夫死后坚持住在这里。
    PS: leisurely age, 悠闲的年代
    PS++: be attached to, 喜爱…
    PS++++: persist in doing sth, 坚持做…

    Before she grew old, Aunt Harriet used to entertain lavishly. I often visited the Gables when I was a boy. No matter how many guests were present, the great house was always immaculate. 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.
    在她老去之前，哈雷特姑姑经常大宴宾客。我小时候经常造访这里。无论多少客人在场，这个屋子永远很干净。镶木地板洁如明镜，擦得发亮的银器陈列在明亮的玻璃柜里，即使我叔叔的大量藏书都被保存地很好，奇迹般的一尘不染。

    Aunt Harriet presided over an invisible army of servants that continuously scrubbed, cleaned, and polished. 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.
    哈雷特姑姑统率着一支看不见的佣人大军，她们不停地擦拭、清扫、刷洗。她总是称她们为“流动人口”，因为她们来去匆匆，我都记不住她们的名字。
    PS: Aunt Harriet presided over an invisible army of servants, 哈雷特阿姨统率着一支看不见的佣人大军
    PS++: refer to them as, 称她们为

    Though my aunt pursued what was, in those days, an enlightened policy, in that she never allowed her domestic staff to work more then eight hours a day, she was extremely difficult to please. 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.
    在那时，姑姑用了开明的办法对待佣人们，从不让她们工作8小时以上，但这并不代表她很好被取悦。即使她一方面总是批评人的本性朝三暮四，但她又在晚年持之以恒地寻找一个理想的佣人。即使在贝西狠狠地伤了她之后，她还在找，一直到她死去。
    PS: enlightened policy, 开明的政策

    Bessie worked for Aunt Harriet for three years. During that time she so gained my aunt’s confidence, that she was put in charge of the domestic staff. Aunt Harriet could not find words to praise Bessis’s industriousness and efficiency. In addition to all her other qualifications, Bessie was an expert cook.
    贝西为姑姑工作了三年。在此期间她赢得了姑妈的赏识，所以她当上了大管家。姑姑盛赞贝西的勤奋与高效。除了她其余品质之外，贝西还善于烹饪。
    PS: gain one’s confidence, 获得某人赏识
    PS++: put in charge of, 负责…，这里译为“做大管家”
    PS++++: could not find words to praise, 找不出词来赞美，等同于“盛赞”

    She acted the role of the perfect servant for three years before Aunt Harriet discovered her ‘little weakness’. After being absent from the Gables for a week, my aunt unexceptedly returned one afternoon with a party of guests and instructed Bessie to prepare dinner.
    干了三年之后，姑姑发现她的一个“小弱点”。姑姑有一个礼拜不在“山墙庄园”住，一天下午她出其不意地回来了，带了几个朋友，要贝西准备晚餐。

    Not only was the meal well below the usual standard, but Bessie seemed unable to walk steadily. She bumped into the furniture and kept mumbling about the guests. When she came in with the last course — a huge pudding — she tripped on the carpet and pudding went flying through the air, narrowly missed my aunt, and crashed on the dining table with considerable force.
    结果，不仅饭菜质量远没有达到以往的标准，贝西连走路都不是很稳的亚子。她撞在了家具上，嘴里还不断地喃喃着议论客人。当她端最后一道菜—大布丁上来时，她在地毯上拌了一下，布丁飞出去了，从姑姑身边擦过，然后狠狠地砸在餐桌上。

    Though this caused great mirth among the guests, Aunt Harriet was horrified. She relunctantly came to the conclusion that Bessie was drunk. The guests had, of course, realized this from the Bessie opened the door for them and, long before the final catastrophe, had had a difficult time trying to conceal their amusement.
    虽然这件事引起了客人们的欢笑，但姑姑还是吓坏了。她不得不认定贝西喝醉了。客人们在贝西为他们开门时就知道她喝醉了，但在好长一段时间内，在最后的灾难发生前，都忍住不笑。
    PS: conceal one’s amusement, 忍住不发笑

    The poor girl was dismissed instantly. After the 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. They had mysteriously found that way there from the wine cellar!
    可怜的贝西立马被解雇了。在她离开之后，姑姑发现贝西以前用过的衣柜里整齐地放着奇形怪状、大小不一的酒瓶子。这些酒瓶神不知鬼不觉地来到了这里！