苔絲 Chapter19

The End 19

結(jié)局 19

It was evening in the parson's house at Emminster.Mr and Mrs Clare were waiting anxiously for Angel's return.

一天晚上，在愛敏斯特的牧師家，克萊爾先生和夫人正焦急地等待著安吉爾的歸來。

‘He won't be here yet，my dear，’said old Mr Clare，as his wife went to the front door for the tenth time.‘Remember his train doesn't come in till six o'clock，and then he has to ride ten miles on our old horse.’

“親愛的，他還到不了，”老克萊爾先生說道。他的妻子已經(jīng)第十次到前門探望了。“記住他的火車直到六點才能抵達，然后他還得騎著咱們那匹老馬走上十里路呢!”

‘But he used to do it in an hour，’said his wife impatiently.Both knew it was useless to talk about it，and the only thing to do was wait.

“可是，以往他在一個小時內(nèi)就騎到了，”他的妻子焦躁地說道。兩個人都知道談?wù)撌菦]有用的，唯一能做的就是等待。

When they heard footsteps they rushed outside to meet the shape in the darkness.

他們聽到腳步聲，急忙沖到了門外，迎接那個黑暗中的身影。

‘Oh my boy，my boy，home at last!’cried Mrs Clare，who at that moment cared no more for Angel's lack of religion than for the dust on his clothes.What woman，in fact，however firm her beliefs，would not sacrifice her religion for her children?Nothing was more important to Mrs Clare than Angel's happiness.

“哦，我的孩子，我的孩子，終于到家了!”克萊爾夫人叫道。在這個時候，她關(guān)切的僅僅是安吉爾身上的塵土，而不會在乎他缺少宗教信仰。實際上，哪一個女人，不管她的信仰多么堅定，不會為了她的孩子們犧牲她的信仰?對克萊爾夫人來說，沒有任何東西比安吉爾的幸福更重要。

But as soon as they reached the living room，she saw his face clearly in the light of the candles.She gave a cry and turned away in sorrow.‘Oh，it's not the Angel who went away!’

可是當他們進到了起居室，她在燭光映照下端詳起他的臉龐時，她不禁驚叫了起來，痛苦地轉(zhuǎn)過頭去，“哦，這不是離開時的安吉爾!”

Even his father was shocked to see the change in his son.They would not have recognized him if they had passed him in the street.The cruel climate and hard work had aged him by twenty years.He was like a shadow，thin and bony，with no spring in his step and no enthusiasm in his eyes.

甚至他的父親在看到兒子的變化時也很震驚。如果他們在街道上經(jīng)過他身旁，他們會認不出他來的，惡劣的氣候和艱苦的勞動讓他蒼老了二十歲。他瘦骨嶙峋，步伐沉重，目光黯然失神，簡直不成人樣了。

‘I was ill over there，’he said，noticing his parents concern.He had to sit down，being weak after his journey.

“在那邊我一直生病，”注意到父母的憂慮，他說道。旅程之后，他已很虛弱，不得不坐下來了。

‘Has any letter come for me?’he asked eagerly.‘The last one…’

“有我的什么信件嗎?”他急切地問道，“最近的一封……”

‘From your wife?’

“從你妻子那兒來的?”

‘Yes.I didn't get it until very recently，as I was travelling.If I had received it earlier，I would have come sooner.’

“是的，我直到最近，當我在旅行的時候才收到。如果我早點兒收到信的話，我會更快趕回來的。”

They gave him a letter that had been waiting for his arrival.Angel read it rapidly.It was Tess's last letter，short and desperate：

他們給了他一封一直等他回來看的信。安吉爾快速地瀏覽了信，這是苔絲最近一封信，寫得簡短、迫切：

Oh why have you treated me so badly，Angel?I do not deserve it.You are cruel! I intend to forget you.You have been so unfair to me!

啊，安吉爾，你為什么對我這么狠哪?這不是我應(yīng)受的懲罰，你真是殘酷!我要設(shè)法忘掉你。你對待我太不公平了!

It is all quite true!’cried Angel hopelessly，throwing down the letter.‘Perhaps she will never take me back!’