On the wall hung a row of portraits, representing the forefathers of the Bellingham lineage, some with armour on their breasts, and others with stately ruffs and robes of peace. All were characterised by the sternness and severity which old portraits so invariably put on; as if they were the ghosts, rather than the pictures, of departed worthies, and were gazing with harsh and intolerant criticism at the pursuits and enjoyments of living men.
墻上懸著一排肖像，都是貝靈漢家族的先祖，有的胸前護(hù)著鎧甲，有的則穿著襯有環(huán)狀皺領(lǐng)的乎日的長袍，但個(gè)個(gè)面露威嚴(yán)，這是當(dāng)年的肖像所必備的特征，似乎他們都是已故的風(fēng)云人物的鬼魂而不是他們的畫像，以苛刻掘狹的批評(píng)目光審視著活人的活動(dòng)和娛樂。

At about the centre of the oaken panels, that lined the hall, was suspended a suit of mail, not, like the pictures, an ancestral relic, but of the most modern date; for it had been manufactured by a skilful armourer in London, the same year in which Governor Bellingham came over to New England. There was a steel headpiece, a cuirass, a gorget, and greaves, with a pair of gauntlets and a sword hanging beneath; all, and especially the helmet and breastplate, so highly burnished as to glow with white radiance, and scatter an illumination everywhere about upon the floor. This bright panoply was not meant for mere idle show, but had been worn by the Governor on many a solemn muster and training field, and had glittered, moreover, at the head of a regiment in the Pequod war. For, though bred a lawyer, and accustomed to speak of Bacon, Coke, Noye, and Finch, as his professional associates, the exigencies of this new country had transformed Governor Bellingham into a soldier, as well as a statesman and ruler.
大廳四周全都鑲嵌著橡木護(hù)墻板，正中位置上懸接著一副甲胄，那可不象畫中的那種遺物，面是當(dāng)時(shí)的最新制品；因?yàn)槟鞘窃谪愳`漢總督跨海來到新英格蘭那一年，由倫敦的一位技術(shù)熟練的工匠打造的，包括一具頭盔、一面護(hù)胸、一個(gè)頸套、一對(duì)護(hù)腔、一副臂銷和吊在下面的一把長劍。這全套甲胃，尤其是頭盔和護(hù)胸，都擦得授亮，閃著白色的光輝，把四下的地板照得通明。這套明晃晃的盔甲，可不只是擺設(shè)，總督確曾穿著它多次在莊嚴(yán)的閱兵式演武場(chǎng)上耀武揚(yáng)威，而且，更重要的，也確曾穿著它在皮廓德之戰(zhàn)②中沖鋒陷陣。因?yàn)樨愳`漢總督雖是律師出身，而且慣于在談到培根③、柯克④、諾職和芬奇⑤時(shí)，將他們引為同道相知，但這一新國家的事態(tài)已經(jīng)將他變成了政治家和統(tǒng)治者，同時(shí)也變成了軍人。

Little Pearl- who was as greatly pleased with the gleaming armour as she had been with the glittering frontispiece of the house- spent some time looking into the polished mirror of the breastplate.
小珠兒就象她剛才對(duì)宅瞪閃光的前臉大為高興一樣，此時(shí)對(duì)那明晃晃的盔甲也興奮異常，她在擦得綴亮的護(hù)胸鏡前照了好長時(shí)間。

"Mother," cried she, "I see you here. Look! Look!"
“媽媽，”她叫道，“我在這里面看見你了。瞧??！。瞧?。?/div>

Hester looked, by way of humouring the child; and she saw that, owing to the peculiar effect of this convex mirror, the scarlet letter was represented in exaggerated and gigantic proportions, so as to be greatly the most prominent feature of her appearance. In truth, she seemed absolutely hidden behind it. Pearl pointed upward, also, at a similar picture in the head-piece; smiling at her mother, with the elfish intelligence that was so familiar an expression on her small physiognomy. That look of naughty merriment was likewise reflected in the mirror, with so much breadth and intensity of effect, that it made Hester Prynne feel as if it could not be the image of her own child, but of an imp who was seeking to mould itself into Pearl's shape.
海絲特出哄孩子高興的愿望，往里隔了瞧；由于這一凸面鏡的特殊功能，她看到紅字的映象極為夸張，顯得比例極大，成了她全身最顯著的特征。事實(shí)上，她仿佛完全給紅字遮住了。珠兒還向上指著頭盔中一個(gè)相似的映象，一邊向母親笑著，小臉上又露出了那常有的鬼精靈的表現(xiàn)。她那又調(diào)皮又開心的神情，也同樣映現(xiàn)在盔甲的凸面鎮(zhèn)中，顯得益發(fā)夸張和專注，使海絲特·白蘭覺得，那似乎不是她自已孩子的形象，而是一個(gè)精靈正在試圖變作珠兒的模樣。