He found the bandbox where it had been described, arranged his toilette with care, and left the house. The sun shone brightly; the distance he had to travel was considerable, and he remembered with dismay that the General’s sudden irruption had prevented Lady Vandeleur from giving him money for a cab. On this sultry day there was every chance that his complexion would suffer severely; and to walk through so much of London with a bandbox on his arm was a humiliation almost insupportable to a youth of his character. He paused, and took counsel with himself. The Vandeleurs lived in Eaton Place; his destination was near Notting Hill; plainly, he might cross the Park by keeping well in the open and avoiding populous alleys; and he thanked his stars when he reflected that it was still comparatively early in the day.
Anxious to be rid of his incubus (страстно желающий отделаться от своего бремени /то есть от генерала/; to be rid of smth. – быть избавленным от чего-либо; incubus – демон, злой дух, злой гений; груз забот, гнет, бремя /то, что давит, создает гнетущую атмосферу/), he walked somewhat faster than his ordinary (он шел несколько быстрее обычного: «чем свое обычное»), and he was already some way through Kensington Gardens (и он уже прошел часть Кенсингтонского парка: «он уже был часть пути сквозь Кенсингтонские сады») when, in a solitary spot among trees (когда в уединенном уголке среди деревьев), he found himself confronted by the General (он встретился лицом к лицу с генералом: «он обнаружил себя встреченным генералом»).
“I beg your pardon, Sir Thomas,” observed Harry (прошу прощения, сэр Томас, – сказал Гарри), politely falling on one side
Примечания
1
Имеется в виду бельгийский город Мехелен, находящийся в историческом герцогстве Брабант, известном своими кружевами.