I suppose I saida very stupid thing.

"Is shegoing into your business?" I asked.

"Oh no; Iwouldn't let her do that, " Mrs. Strickland answered. "She's so pretty.I'm sure she'll marry well. "

"I shouldhave thought it would be a help to you. "

"Severalpeople have suggested that she should go on the stage, but of course I couldn'tconsent to that, I know all the chief dramatists, and I could get her a partto-morrow, but I shouldn't like her to mix with all sorts of people. "

I was a littlechilled by Mrs. Strickland's exclusiveness.

"Do youever hear of your husband?"

"No; Ihaven't heard a word. He may be dead for all I know. "

"I may runacross him in Paris. Would you like me to let you know about him?"

She hesitated aminute.

"If he'sin any real want I'm prepared to help him a little. I'd send you a certain sumof money, and you could give it him gradually, as he needed it. "

"That'svery good of you, " I said.

But I knew itwas not kindness that prompted the offer. It is not true that sufferingennobles the character; happiness does that sometimes, but suffering, for themost part, makes men petty and vindictive.

我觉得我在和她聊天的时候问了一句蠢话。

“她要不要到你开的这个打字所里做点儿事？”

“啊，不，我不让她做这个，”思特里克兰德太太回答，“她长得很漂亮，我认为她一定能结一门好亲事。”

“那对你将会有很大的帮助，我早该想到的。”

“有人建议叫她上舞台，但是我当然不会同意。所有有名的戏剧家我都认识，只要我肯张嘴，马上就能给她在戏里派个角色，但是我不愿意她同杂七杂八的人混在一起。”

思特里克兰德太太这种孤芳自赏的态度叫我心里有点儿发凉。

“你听到过你丈夫的什么消息吗？”

“没有，什么也没有听到过。说不定他已经死了。”

“我在巴黎可能遇见他。如果我知道他什么消息，你要不要我告诉你。”

她犹豫了一会儿。

“如果他的生活真的贫困不堪，我还是准备帮助帮助他。我会给你寄一笔钱去，在他需要的时候，你可以一点一点地给他。”

但是我知道她答应做这件事并不是出于仁慈的心肠。有人说灾难不幸可以使人性高贵，这句话并不对；叫人做出高尚行动的有时候反而是幸福得意，灾难不幸在大多数情况下只能使人们变得心胸狭小、报复心更强。