After that， they broke the Sabbaths right along as fast as they turned up. It is the first wrong step that counts. Every Sunday they put in the whole day， after morning service， on inventions—inventions of ways to spend the money. They got to continuing this delicious dissipationdissipation n.消散， 分散， 挥霍， 浪费， 消遣， 放荡， 狂饮 until past midnight， and at every seance Aleck lavished millions upon great charities and religious enterprisesenterprise n.企业， 事业， 计划， 事业心， 进取心， 干事业， and Sally lavished like sums upon matters to which （at first） he gave definite names. Only at first. Later the names gradually lost sharpness of outline， and eventually faded into “sundries”， thus becoming entirely—but safelyundescriptive. For Sally was crumbling. The placing of these millions added seriously and most uncomfortably to the family expenses—in tallow candles. For a while Aleck was worried. Then， after a little， she ceased to worry， for the occasion of it was gone. She was pained， she was grieved， she was ashamed， but she said nothing， and so became an accessoryaccessory n.附件， 零件， 附加物， 从犯， 同谋者 adj.附属的， 补充的， 同谋的， 副的。 Sally was taking candles， he was robbing the store. It is ever thus. Vast wealth， to the person unaccustomed to it， is a bane； it eats into the flesh and bone of his morals. When the Fosters were poor， they could have been trusted with untold candles. But now they—but let us not dwell upon it. From candles to apples is but a step： Sally got to taking apples， then soap， then maplesugar； then canned goods； then crockerycrockery n.陶器， 瓦器。 How easy it is to go from bad to worse， when once we have started upon a downward course！
一旦发现了这个诀窍，从此以后，他们就不再守安息日的老规矩了。每个周日的晨祷以后，他们整整一天都用来编排——编排花钱的门道。这种美妙的消费活动总是持续到午夜过后。每次花钱大赛时，艾莱柯都大大方方地拿出几百万，施舍给知名慈善机构和教会产业。萨利也出手阔绰，拿出同样数目的钱，花在一些项目上。一开始他还给这些项目分别冠以固定的名目。这只是刚开始的时候。后来这些名目逐渐失去了鲜明的特色，最终淡化成“杂项类”，全都变成不清不白的名目了——这样做倒是安全。因为萨利已经开始瞎折腾了。安排这些数以百万计的巨款增加了家庭开支——买蜡烛的费用，这是一个严肃而极为棘手的问题。艾莱柯为这件事发过愁，很快就不再发愁了，因为发愁的根源已经不复存在。她也曾痛苦过，伤心过，害臊过；不过她保持了沉默，成了一个同谋。萨利开始偷蜡烛了，从商店往回偷。事情从来都是如此。巨额财富对穷惯了的人是一剂毒药，会连皮带骨吞噬他的良心。福斯特夫妇过穷日子的时候，交给他们多少蜡烛都能信得过。可是，如今他们——我们先不涉及这个问题。从偷蜡烛到偷苹果只有一步之遥：萨利开始偷苹果；后来是肥皂；再往后是枫糖、罐头、陶器。只要我们一开始走下坡路，越变越坏可真容易呀！
Meantime， other effects had been milestoning the course of the Fosters splendid financial march. The fictitiousfictitious adj.假想的， 编造的， 虚伪的， 习惯上假定的，假想的， 假装的， 小说中的 brick dwelling had given place to an imaginary granite one with a checkerboard mansard roof， in time this one disappeared and gave place to a still grander home—and so on and so on. Mansion after mansion， made of air， rose， higher， broader， finer， and each in its turn vanished away. Until now in these latter great days， our dreamers were in fancy housed， in a distant region， in a sumptuoussumptuous adj.奢侈的， 华丽的 vast palace which looked out from a leafy summit upon a noble prospect of vale and river and receding hills steeped in tinted mists—and all private， all the property of the dreamers. A palace swarming with liveried servants， and populous with guests of fame and power， hailing from all the worlds capitals， foreign and domesticdomestic adj.家庭的， 国内的， 与人共处的， 驯服的。
与此同时，福斯特夫妇气吞山河的金融进程中又有了其他里程碑式的标志。那栋虚构的砖楼换成了一幢花岗岩造的有棋盘格子复式屋顶的建筑；后来，这幢房子也不见了，让位于一幢更加气派的住宅——如此等等。一幢又一幢建在虚空中的豪宅拔地而起，一幢比一幢更高，更宽敞，更精美，然后又一幢跟着一幢地无影无踪了。一直到后来这些大喜的日子，咱们的梦乡客已经住进了一座宫殿式的豪宅，这是一座山顶建筑，四周树木葱茏，宫殿俯瞰着山谷、河流以及云雾缭绕的重峦叠嶂——这都是私产，都归两位幻想者所有。宫殿里仆从如云，个个穿着制服，来自世界各大都市的名流权贵济济一堂，外宾内宾齐备。
This palace was far， far away toward the rising sun， immeasurably remoteremote adj.遥远的， 偏僻的， 细微的， astronomically remote， in Newport， Rhode Island， Holy Land of High Society， ineffable Domain of the American Aristocracy. As a rule they spent a part of every Sabbath—after morning servicein this sumptuous home， the rest of it they spent in Europe， or in dawdling around in their private yachtyacht n.游艇， 快艇， 轻舟 vi.驾游艇， 乘游艇。 Six days of sordid and plodding fact life at home on the ragged edge of Lakeside and straitened means， the seventh in Fairlyand—such had been their program and their habit.
这座宫殿在很远的地方，远在天边，迎着东升的太阳，它遥不可及，恍如隔世。它建在罗得岛的新港，那里是上流社会的圣地，美国显贵们的禁脔。按照惯例，每逢安息日晨祷过后，他们在这所豪宅里消磨一部分时光，其他时间花在欧洲，或者花在优哉游哉的私人游艇上。每星期在湖滨镇寒酸的角落里挨过卑微乏味的六天以后，第七天就可以云游仙界——这已经成了他们的固定节目和习惯。
In their sternly restrictedrestricted adj.受限制的， 有限的 fact life they remained as of old—plodding， diligent， careful， practical， economical. They stuck loyally to the little Presbyterian Church， and labored faithfully in its interests and stood by its high and tough doctrines with all their mental and spiritual energies. But in their dream life they obeyed the invitations of their fancies， whatever they might be， and howsoever the fancies might change. Alecks fancies were not very capriciouscapricious adj.反复无常的， and not frequent， but Sallys scattered a good deal. Aleck， in her dream life， went over to the Episcopal camp， on account of its large official titles， next she became Highchurch on account of the candles and shows， and next she naturally changed to Rome， where there were cardinalscardinal n.枢机主教， 红衣主教 adj.主要的， 最重要的 and more candles. But these excursions were a nothing to Sallys. His dream life was a glowing and continuous and persistent excitement， and he kept every part of it fresh and sparkling by frequent changes， the religious part along with the rest. He worked his religions hard， and changed them with his shirt.