'it was only my whim,' he said; and, after a moment's hesitation: 'it was on account of a discovery I made some little time ago, whilst I was hunting up pedigrees for the new county history.

“那只是我的一时兴致，”他说；然后又稍稍迟疑了一会儿：“那是因为不久前我为了编写新的郡史在查考家谱时的一个发现。”

youdao

Because a little thing to the country some time ago in a small town, inadvertently walking, went to the countryside for its own small way.

前段时间因为有点事情到乡下的一个小镇，无意间的行走，让自己跑到了乡间的小路上。

youdao

Some time from now, or some time long ago, a young man gave me water in this desert, although he had precious little to give.

不久之后，或很久很久以前，有一个年轻人在这沙漠里给我水喝，虽然他能给的水很少。

youdao