01. Oliver's early life(6)

　Mr Bumble coughed． 'What is it？' he asked， looking at the bottle with interest．
　　'Gin．I keep it for the children's medicine drink.'
　　'You give the children gin，Mrs Mann？'asked Mr Bumble，watching as she mixed his drink．
　　'Only with medicine， sir． I don't like to see the m suffer．'
　　'You're a good woman， Mrs Mann．' Mr Bumble drank half his glass immediately． 'I'll tell the board about you．Now - the reason why I'm here． O liver Twist is nine years old today． We've never been able to discover anything about his parents.'
　　'The n how did he get his name？'
'I gave it to him，'said Mr Bumble proudly． 'We follow the alphabet．The last one was an S-Swubble． The n it was T， so this one is Twist． The next one will be Unwin．Anyway，Oliver Twist is now old enough to return to the workhouse． Bring him here， please．' While Mrs Mann went to get him， Mr Bumble finished the rest of his gin．
班布尔先生咳嗽了一声。“是什么？”他问道，并饶有兴趣地看着瓶子。
　　“杜松子酒，我这是留着给孩子们吃药用的。”
　　“曼太太，你给孩子们喝杜松子酒？”班布尔先生看着她给自己兑酒，问道。
　　“只是吃药的时候给他们喝上一点儿，先生。我不忍心看着他们受罪。”
　　“曼太太，你真是个好心的女人。”班布尔先生马上喝下了半杯。“我会在董事会那里替你美言的。现在言归正传，说说我今天来这儿的目的。奥利弗•特威斯特今天已经整整九岁了，迄今为止，我们没有打听到关于他父母的任何消息。”
　　“那么，他是怎么有了这个姓的？”
　　“这姓是我给他起的，”班布尔先生自豪地说，“我们是按照字母表的顺序给他们安排姓氏的，前一个是S，叫斯瓦勃（Swubble），轮到他是字母T，所以就叫特威斯特（Twist），下一个叫恩温（Unwin）。不管怎么说，奥利弗已经长大了，该回到济贫院去了。请把他带到这儿来。”曼太太去带奥利弗时，班布尔先生喝干了杯子里剩下的杜松子酒。