牛津書蟲系列 大衛(wèi)科波菲爾 Chapter 6 David falls in love

　　A gnes had asked me to be polite to Uriah if I met him，and so，when I saw him the next day near the law courts，I was careful not to offend him.He looked even stranger than before，with his small evil head and long thin body，and his wide oily smile.When we shook hands，I no ticed how cold and wet his hand felt，just like a fish.

　　阿格尼斯曾要求過我，要是我碰到尤賴亞，一定要對他客氣點。所以，當我第二天在法院附近看見他時，我很謹慎不去冒犯他。他看上去比以前更古怪了，陰險的小腦袋，細長的軀體，僵硬、猙獰的笑臉。我們握了握手，他的手是如此的冰冷潮濕，活像捏著那冷血魚。

　　‘Would you—would you like to come to my rooms for coffee，Uriah?’I offered，trying to hide my horror of him.

　　“你愿意——愿意到我的寓所去喝杯咖啡嗎，尤賴亞?”我主動提議，竭力想隱藏對他的恐懼感。

　　‘Oh，Master Copperfield，I mean，Mister Copperfield，I should say now!How kind of you!I'm too humble to expect such kindness!But I would like that!’

　　“噢，科波菲爾少爺，我是說科波菲爾先生，我愿意現(xiàn)在就去!你真是好心!我太卑微，不敢奢望如此善意的邀請!但我愿意接受!”

　　And when we reached my flat，he looked at me with an unpleasantly confident smile，and said，‘Perhaps you've heard that I'm going to become Mr Wickfield's partner，Mr Cop perfield?’

　　我們到達寓所時，他以一種令人討厭的自信笑著看著我，說：“或許你已經(jīng)聽說了，我將成為威克菲爾先生的合伙人，科波菲爾先生?”

　　‘Yes，’I replied.‘Agnes has told me about it.’

　　“聽說了，”我回答，“阿格尼斯跟我說過。”

　　‘Ah!I'm glad to hear that Miss Agnes knows about it，’he answered.‘Thank you for that，Mr Copperfield!’

　　“噢，我很高興阿格尼斯小姐知道此事，”他答道，“謝謝你告訴我，科波菲爾先生!”

　　I was annoyed with myself for mentioning Agnes's name，and hated hearing him say it，but I said nothing and drank my coffee.

　　我很自惱提到了阿格尼斯的名字，而且討厭聽到他稱呼這個名字。可我并沒說什么，只顧喝我的咖啡。

　　‘You said once，Mr Copperfield，’continued Uriah，rubbing his hands together happily，‘that perhaps I'd be Mr Wickfield's partner one day.It was kind of you to say so.A humble person like me remembers things like that!And now it's true!I'm glad to think I've been able to help poor Mr Wickfield.Oh，how very careless he has been!If I hadn't been his assistant，he would certainly have lost his business，his house，and all his money by now.Of course，I'm helping him because I admire him—and not only him…’

　　“你曾經(jīng)說過，科波菲爾先生，”尤賴亞高興地搓著雙手，繼續(xù)道，“或許有一天我會成為威克菲爾先生的合作伙伴。謝謝你的吉言。一個像我這么卑微的人會時刻銘記這樣的話!而現(xiàn)在，這成真的了!想到能幫助可憐的威克菲爾先生我很高興。哦，他是那么的粗心!要是沒我做他的助手，他現(xiàn)在肯定已經(jīng)丟掉了公司、房子和所有的錢財。當然，我?guī)椭且驗槲揖粗厮?mdash;—而且不光是他……”

　　Suddenly，although the room was warm，an icy coldness spread through my body，as I stared into his cruel little face.

　　突然，我渾身感到一陣透涼，盡管房間里很暖和。我緊盯著他那張殘酷的臉。

　　‘Miss Agnes is looking beautiful at the moment，isn't she?’he went on，smiling horribly.‘Mr Copperfield，I trust you，because as you know，I've always liked you，although I'm so humble，and you're a gentleman.So I'd like to tell you my little secret.In spite of my low position，I love Miss Agnes!I've given my heart to her，and I hope to marry her one day!’

　　“如今的阿格尼斯出落得很漂亮，是不是?”他露出可怕的微笑，繼續(xù)說道，“科波菲爾先生，我信賴你，因為你知道，我一直喜歡你，盡管我如此卑微，而你是位紳士。所以，我想告訴你一個小秘密：不管我地位有多低下，我愛阿格尼斯小姐!我已經(jīng)把心交給了她，我希望有朝一日娶她為妻!”

　　There was a purple mist in front of my eyes.I wanted to hit his ugly face，or stab a knife right into his wicked heart.I was almost mad with anger.But I thought of Agnes's request，and I managed to control myself.

　　我眼前蒙上一層濃霧，我想揍他那張丑陋的臉，或是用刀刺穿他惡毒的心。我氣得都快發(fā)瘋，但想到阿格尼斯的請求，我還是設法控制住了自己。

　　‘Have—have you spoken to Agnes about your—your love?’I asked as calmly as I could.

　　“你——對阿格尼斯表達過你的——你的愛嗎?”我盡可能平靜地問道。

　　‘Oh no，Mr Copperfield.I'm waiting for the right moment.Perhaps I'll ask her when I become her father's partner.She'll think kindly of me，you see，when she realizes how much her father needs me.She loves him so much!Ah，what a good daughter my Agnes is!And what an excellent wife she'll be to me!’

　　“哦，沒有，科波菲爾先生。我正在等待時機?；蛟S在我成為她父親的合伙人時，我會向她求婚。當她意識到她父親有多么需要我時，你知道，她會平心靜氣考慮我。她是那么地愛她父親!啊，我的阿格尼斯是個多好的女兒!她將會是我多么出色的妻子!”

　　Dear，sweet Agnes，my adopted sister!I did not know any man good enough to be her husband.Could she ever marry this worthless insect?When Uriah left my flat，I spent a sleepless night worrying about what I should do.In the end I decided to say nothing to Agnes about Uriah's plan，as she already had enough to worry about.

　　至愛至親的阿格尼斯，我的義姐!我不知道有誰能配得上做她的丈夫。難道她要嫁給這個一錢不值的怪物嗎?尤賴亞離開我的寓所后，我一宿未眠，思考著我能為此做些什么。最終我決定不把尤賴亞的陰謀告訴給阿格尼斯，因為她已經(jīng)夠煩心的了。

　　A year had passed since I first started work in Mr Spenlow's firm.I often went to court with him，and began to understand the details of some of the most difficult cases.Mr Spenlow was kind to me，and occasionally talked to me，not only about law but also about other matters.I discovered that his wife had died，and that he lived in a large country house just outside London，with his only daughter and her paid companion.One day he invited me to his house for the weekend，and I accepted gratefully.So on Friday evening Mr Spenlow's coach and horses drove us to the house.

　　到斯本羅先生事務所工作已經(jīng)有一年了。他常帶我去法院，我開始對一些比較復雜的案例的細節(jié)有所了解，斯本羅先生對我不錯，時常跟我聊天，內(nèi)容不光是有關法律的知識，還有一些其他事情。我了解到他妻子已經(jīng)去世，他與唯一的女兒和她的侍伴住在倫敦城外不遠的一所鄉(xiāng)間別墅。一天，他邀請我去他家度周末，我很感激地接受了邀請。于是，斯本羅先生的馬車把我們帶到了他的家中。

　　When I saw the Spenlows’home，I realized how rich Mr Spenlow must be.It was a lovely old building，with large gar dens.As soon as we entered，Mr Spenlow asked one of the servants，‘Where's Miss Dora?’

　　當我看到斯本羅先生的住宅時，我才意識到斯本羅先生有多富裕。這是一座可愛的舊式建筑，花園很大。我們一進門，斯本羅先生就問其中的一位用人：“朵拉小姐在哪兒?”

　　‘Dora!’I thought.‘What a beautiful name!’We went in to the sitting-room，and I suppose Mr Spenlow introduced me.I did not notice，because nothing mattered at that moment.I just stared stupidly at his daughter Dora，lost in wonder at her beauty，and unable to say anything.I had fallen in love in a second.

　　“朵拉!”我心想，“多美的名字呀!”我們走進了客廳，斯本羅先生可能把我介紹了一番。我沒注意這一點因為當時什么都不重要了，我只是呆呆地盯著他的女兒朵拉，為她的美貌出神，嘴里說不出半句話來。在這一瞬間我墜入了愛河。

　　As I stared，I heard a voice speaking to me， but it was not Dora's.It was her companion，whom I had not noticed at all while Mr Spenlow was making the introductions.When I saw that the companion was Miss Murdstone，I was surprised，certainly，but nothing could take my attention away from Dora for more than a second or two.

　　就在我目瞪口呆之間，我聽見有人跟我說話，但不是朵拉的聲音，而是她的侍伴，斯本羅先生作介紹時我壓根兒沒留意她。當我看清這位侍伴是摩德斯通小姐時，我自然很吃驚，但當時沒有任何東西可以把我的注意力從朵拉身上移開，哪怕只一兩秒鐘。

　　Mr Spenlow explained that Miss Murdstone had been kind enough to come and look after his poor motherless daughter，and to be her confidential friend and companion.But it seemed to me that Dora was neither friendly nor confidential towards her stern companion.

　　斯本羅先生解釋說，摩德斯通小姐能來照顧他失去母愛的可憐的女兒，并成為她的密友和侍伴，真是難能可貴?？稍谖铱磥?，朵拉對她這位嚴肅的伙伴既不友好也不親密。

　　As for me，the rest of the weekend passed in a kind of fog.We ate meals，and went for walks.People spoke to me，and I answered.But I have no idea what I actually said.All I re-member was Dora's golden hair，and Dora's blushing face，and Dora's beautiful blue eyes!Occasionally I was lucky enough to speak to her alone，and then I was so shy that I blushed as much as Dora herself.I was very jealous of the little dog that she carried everywhere with her.Sometimes I thought she liked me a little，and at other times I was sure she would never love me.I was wildly，desperately in love!至于我，接下來的這段周末時光就像在云霧中度過。我們在一起吃飯，散步，別人問我什么我就回答什么，但我不知道自己到底說了些什么。我全部的記憶就是朵拉的金發(fā)、朵拉紅撲撲的臉蛋、朵拉美麗的藍眼睛!有時，我有幸能單獨跟她說話，可我卻那么靦腆，臉紅得跟朵拉一樣。我很嫉妒那條跟朵拉形影不離的小狗。時而，我想她有點喜歡我，時而又肯定她不可能愛上我。我瘋狂地、絕望地愛上了她!

　　I had wondered if Miss Murdstone would try and blacken my name with the Spenlows，but on that first evening she had taken me to one side.

　　我不知道摩德斯通小姐是否會在斯本羅一家面前盡力說我的壞話?？僧斕焱砩纤盐医械揭贿?。

　　‘David Copperfield，’ she said coldly.‘I see no need for either of us to speak about the past to anyone here.I imagine we are agreed on that.’

　　“大衛(wèi)·科波菲爾，”她冷冷地說道，“我看我們倆誰也沒有必要對這兒的任何人提起我們的過去。我想你我都會贊成吧。”

　　‘Certainly，ma’am.We are agreed on that，although I shall never change my opinion of you.’

　　“當然，小姐，你我都贊成。但我永遠不會改變對你的看法。”

　　I put Miss Murdstone out of my mind，and for several weeks after meeting Dora，I lived in a dream.I did my work automatically，and I never stopped thinking of her.The greatest happiness I could imagine was being engaged to Dora.I dared not hope that one day we would be married.

　　摩德斯通小姐很快被我忘在腦后。遇見朵拉后的幾個星期，我都生活在夢境之中。我機械地工作著，卻無時不刻地想她。我最大的快樂就是想象跟朵拉訂婚的情景。我不敢奢望有一天我倆會結(jié)成夫妻。

　　While walking round London one day，hoping to meet Dora out shopping，I met my old schoolfriend Tommy Traddles. He was living in the city，like me，and was also studying to become a lawyer.I arranged to visit him，and went to his house after work the next day.He lived in one room in a rented house，in a very poor part of the city.His room was small，and almost empty.

　　一天，我在倫敦街頭溜達，指望能看見朵拉從哪家商場出來。這時，我遇見了老同學湯米·特拉德爾。他住在倫敦城，也跟我一樣在學做律師。我安排了時間去看他。第二天下了班，我來到了他的住處。他住的是一個租來的房間，位于城市的貧民窟。房間很小，差不多是空的。

　　‘Copperfield!I'm glad to see you!he said warmly.‘you can see I haven't got much furniture，but I'm hoping to earn more money later，when I've finished my studies.’

　　“科波菲爾!真高興見到你!”他熱情地說，“你看我這兒沒什么家什，可我希望我不久就能賺錢，就在我學完之后。”

　　‘Didn't you have a rich uncle，Traddles?’I asked.

　　“你不是有一個很富有的叔叔嗎，特拉德爾?”我問道。

　　‘Yes，but I've always been unlucky，you know.He decided he didn't like me，so he didn't leave me anything when he died. I'm really very poor，and I have to do several jobs to pay for my studies.’Traddles looked surprisingly cheerful.‘But I must tell you，Copperfield，as you're an old friend，that I'm engaged!To a lovely girl，who comes from a large family，and lives in Devon!’

　　“是的，可是你要知道，我總是不走運。他認為他不喜歡我，所以在他死后，沒留下任何東西給我。我的確很窮，而且不得不做好幾份工作來支付我的學費。”特拉德爾的情緒出奇地好。“可我必須告訴你，科波菲爾，因為你是我的好朋友，我一定得告訴你，我已經(jīng)訂婚了!跟一個很可愛的女孩，她出生于一個大家庭，就住在德文!”

　　I was thinking of Dora as I shook hands with him and congratulated him enthusiastically.‘Will you get married soon?’I asked.

　　我熱切地握住他的手向他道喜，心里卻想著朵拉。“你們很快要結(jié)婚?”我問道。

　　‘No，she's very poor too，so we'll have to wait a long time，until we've saved enough money.

　　“不，她也很窮，所以我們必須得等一段時間，等到我們攢夠錢。

　　She's such a dear girl，Copperfield.She says she'll wait for me until she's sixty，if necessary!And I'm quite happy here with the people who rent the house—the Micawbers are very kind.’

　　她是個那么可親的女孩，科波菲爾，她說她會等我到60歲，如果有必要的話!而且我在這里跟我的房東處得很愉快——米考伯一家非常友善。”

　　‘Who did you say?’I cried.‘The Micawbers!I know them!’

　　“你說什么?”我叫起來，“米考伯一家!我認識他們!”

　　Just then Mr Micawber himself knocked at the door and entered.His stomach was a little fatter and his face a little older than before，but he looked as confident as ever.I went up to him and shook his hand.

　　正在這時，米考伯先生本人敲了敲門進來了。他的肚子比以前圓了點兒，臉也比以前蒼老了點兒，但他還像以前那樣自信。我走上前去跟他握手。

　　‘How are you，Mr Micawber?’I asked.‘Do you remember me?’

　　“你好嗎，米考伯先生?”我問道，“還記得我嗎?”

　　‘Is it possible? Can it be? Have I the pleasure of seeing my old friend Copperfield again?’ he replied， a smile spreading over his large face.He turned to call downstairs，‘My dear!Come and meet this gentleman， my love!’

　　“這可能嗎?是真的嗎?我能有幸再次見到我的老朋友科波菲爾?”他回答，大臉龐綻開笑容。他轉(zhuǎn)身朝樓下喊道：“親愛的!快來見見這位先生，我的寶貝!”

　　When Mrs Micawber came in，she was also delighted to see me，and we talked for some time about the twins， and the other children，and her husband's business interests.But this conversation soon made Mr Micawber rather depressed.

　　米考伯太太進來了，她也很高興見到我。我們聊起了她的雙胞胎和其他幾個孩子，還談到她丈夫的業(yè)務經(jīng)營。但這個話題弄得米考伯先生的心情馬上沉重起來。

　　‘You see，Copperfield，’he said miserably，‘nothing has turned up yet.Sometimes I wonder whether anything ever will turn up.I can't pay for our food，or even our water.It's hard enough for me to accept the situation，but how can I expect my dear wife to live like this?Perhaps it would have been better if I had never asked her to marry me!’He put his head in his hands.

　　“你知道，科波菲爾，”他痛苦地說道，“沒有任何轉(zhuǎn)機。我有時懷疑是否真有轉(zhuǎn)機出現(xiàn)。我已買不起食物，甚至買不起水。這種狀況對我來說已夠艱難的了，我怎能讓我親愛的妻子也如此生活呢?或許當初我沒要求她嫁給我就好了!”他把腦袋埋在雙手中。

　　‘Micawber!’cried his wife.‘How can you say that!You know I have always loved and admired you，and always will love and admire you!My dear husband!’And they fell into each other's arms，sobbing on each other's shoulders.In a few moments they had both dried their eyes and looked quite cheerful again.I realized that the Micawbers had not changed at all，but this quick change of mood was rather a surprise for Traddles.

　　“米考伯!”他妻子哭道，“你怎么能這么說呢!你知道我愛你、敬重你，而且永遠愛你、敬重你!我親愛的丈夫!”然后，他們擁抱在一起，抱頭痛哭。幾分鐘后，他們倆都擦干眼淚，情緒再次好轉(zhuǎn)，我意識到米考伯夫婦根本沒什么改變。但這種情緒忽高忽低的突然轉(zhuǎn)變使特拉德爾很是吃驚。

　　Before I left， I made sure I had a word in private with my old schoolfriend.‘Traddles，’I whispered，‘take my advice—don't lend Mr Micawber any money.He's got a lot of debts.’

　　在告辭之前，我下決心要跟老同學單獨說幾句。“特拉德爾，”我小聲說道，“記住我的勸告——不要借錢給米考伯先生，他已債臺高筑。”

　　Traddles looked uncomfortable.‘Thank you，Copperfield，’he whispered in reply，‘but I've already lent him some.I don't know whether he'll give it back—you know how unlucky I am!’

　　特拉德爾神色很不自在。“謝謝你，科波菲爾，”他小聲回答，“可我已經(jīng)借給他一些錢了，不知道他是否能還給我——你看我多背運!”

　　When I got back to my rooms，I found Steer forth waiting for me there.I thought of Agnes's warning about him，but when I saw his open， good-looking face，I could not believe he could be a bad influence on anyone.However，there was something rather strange in his manner that night.Sometimes he seemed quite depressed，almost desperate， but a minute later he was laughing wildly，and I had no idea why he was like that.

　　我回到自己的住處，發(fā)現(xiàn)斯提福茲在那兒等我。我想到阿格尼斯對我的忠告，可當我看著他開朗、英俊的臉，就不相信他能對別人產(chǎn)生什么壞影響。然而，那天晚上他的情緒很不對勁。時而他似乎很消沉，幾乎絕望，可沒過片刻，他又發(fā)瘋地笑起來。我不知道他怎么會這樣。

　　‘I've just been to Yarmouth，David!’he told me.

　　“我剛?cè)チ搜琶┧?，大衛(wèi)!”他告訴我。

　　‘Oh!’I replied.‘You've seen the Peggotty family，I expect?’

　　“噢!”我回答，“那你見著辟果提一家了，我猜?”

　　‘I haven't seen much of them，but I have got some news for you.It's about old Barkis.I'm afraid his illness has got much worse，and the doctor thinks he'll die very soon.’

　　“我沒常見他們，可我的確有消息告訴你。是有關老巴克斯的?？峙滤牟∫呀?jīng)惡化，醫(yī)生說他活不多久了。”

　　‘Oh dear!’I said.‘Poor Peggotty will be so sad!’

　　“噢，老天!”我說，“可憐的辟果提該會有多傷心!”

　　‘Yes，it's bad luck，’replied Steerforth carelessly.‘But people die in this world every minute.I'm not afraid of death!I want to live life in my own way，and nobody can stop me!’He threw his head back proudly.I looked into his handsome face，wondering why he was so excited，which was unusual for him.

　　“是的，運氣不佳，”斯提福茲滿不在乎地說道，“可這個世上每分鐘都有人死去。我一點都不怕死!我想以我自己的方式生活，沒有人能阻止我!”他桀驁不馴地仰了仰頭。我看著他英俊的臉，奇怪他怎么這么激動，激動得有點兒失常。

　　‘Steerforth，I think I'll have to go to Yarmouth myself，’I said.‘Perhaps I can help Peggotty at this difficult time.’

　　“斯提福茲，我想我該自己去一趟雅茅斯，”我說，“或許我能在辟果提困難的時候幫她一把。”

　　Smiling，he put his hands on my shoulders.‘I wish I could be as good as you!David，promise me that if anything ever happens to separate us，you'll think of me at my best!Promise me that!’

　　他把手搭在我肩上，笑了笑。“真希望我能像你這么好!大衛(wèi)，答應我，如果有什么事發(fā)生使我倆分開，你要多想想我的好處!答應我吧!”

　　‘Steerforth，you have no best or worst for me，’I answered.‘You will always have your place in my heart!’

　　“斯提福茲，對我來說，你身上沒有好壞之分，”我回答，“在我心目中永遠有你的位置!”

　　And as he turned to go，he gave me his hand， and smiled in his old friendly way.That is how I like to remember him，now that I shall never touch his hand again，or see him smile.

　　當他轉(zhuǎn)身要走時，他伸出手，以他慣常那種友好的方式笑了笑。這是我記得他的模樣，可如今我再不能握他的手，再見不著他笑了。

　　When I arrived in Yarmouth，I went straight to Barkis's house.In the sitting-room I found Daniel，Ham and Emily.Ham was standing by the door，while Emily was sobbing in Daniel's arms.None of them seemed surprised to see me.

　　到達雅茅斯后，我徑直來到了巴克斯家。走進客廳，我看見丹尼爾、哈姆和埃米莉都在。哈姆站在門邊，埃米莉倒在丹尼爾的臂彎里哭泣。見著我他們誰也不吃驚。

　　‘Emily's very young，Master David，’explained Daniel.‘It's hard for her to accept death.That's why she's crying.Now cheer up，Emily my dear，Ham has come to take you home.what's that?’He bent his grey head down to hear her whispered reply.‘You want to stay here with your old uncle?But you should go with Ham—he'll be your husband soon!’

　　“埃米莉還年輕，大衛(wèi)少爺，”丹尼爾解釋說，“她很難接受死亡。所以她哭了?，F(xiàn)在，高興點，我親愛的埃米莉，哈姆來接你回家。你說什么?”他低下滿是灰發(fā)的頭，湊近她聽她輕聲地回答，“你想和你的老叔叔呆在這兒?可你得和哈姆回去——他就要成為你的丈夫了!”

　　‘That's all right，’said Ham.‘If it makes Emily happy，it'll make me happy. I'll go home alone.’He went over to Emily and gave her a gentle kiss.She seemed to turn away from him a little.As Ham went out，I went upstairs to see poor Barkis.

　　“沒關系，”哈姆說，“如果埃米莉高興，我也就高興。我可以一個人回家。”他走到埃米莉跟前，輕輕地吻了她一下。她似乎略微回避了一下。哈姆走后，我上樓去看可憐的巴克斯。

　　He was lying unconscious in bed，looking very pale and ill.Peggotty was sitting beside him.She jumped up and took me delightedly in her arms，just as she used to do.Then she turned to her husband.‘Barkis，my dear，’she said almost cheerfully，‘ here's Master David，who brought us together，you remember?He carried your messages for you. Can you speak to him?’

　　他昏睡在床上，臉色蒼白，病得不輕。辟果提坐在他身邊。她跟以前一樣跳起來高興地擁抱了我。然后她轉(zhuǎn)向她丈夫。“巴克斯，親愛的，”她幾乎是興奮地說道，“大衛(wèi)少爺來了，是他使我倆走在一起，記得嗎?他把你的口信捎給我。你能跟他說話嗎?”

　　Barkis lay silently there，not moving.We sat beside him all through that long night.In the early morning， he suddenly opened his eyes，reached out his hand to me，and said clearly，With a pleasant smile，‘Barkis is willing!’And then he closed his eyes，and died.

　　巴克斯靜靜地躺著，一動不動。我們徹夜守在他身邊。第二天一早，他突然睜開眼睛，伸出手握住我，帶著高興的微笑，清楚地說了一句：“巴克斯很愿意!”然后就閉上眼睛，死了。

　　‘He was a good man!’said Peggotty，with tears in her eyes.‘I shall miss him!’

　　“他是個好人!”辟果提兩眼噙著淚，說，“我不會忘了他!”

　　I was able to help Peggotty with the arrangements for the funeral.Barkis was buried in Blunderstone churchyard，close to my mother and little brother.We discovered that Barkis had saved quite a lot of money，which he left to Peggotty and Daniel.So I knew that Peggotty would not need to work in future.

　　我?guī)椭俟岚才帕撕笫?。巴克斯葬在布蘭德斯通的教堂墓地，離我母親和小弟弟不遠。我們得知巴克斯存有一大筆錢，留給辟果提和丹尼爾。所以，我知道辟果提今后不需要工作了。

　　On the day before the funeral，we all arranged to meet at the old boat.It was my last evening in Yarmouth，as I was re-turning to London the following day.When I arrived，I was surprised to see that Ham and Emily were not there.Peggotty was feeling more cheerful now，and Daniel was talking to her.Just then Ham came to the door.

　　葬禮前一天，我們決定在船屋碰頭。這是我在雅茅斯的最后一晚，因為我第二天就要回倫敦了。到那兒以后，我很奇怪沒有見著哈姆和埃米莉，辟果提情緒好多了，丹尼爾在跟她聊天。這時，哈姆來到門口。

　　‘Master David，come outside a minute，would you?’ he asked.I stepped outside，and Ham shut the door carefully.It was raining heavily，and as we stood on the lonely beach，I noticed how very pale Ham's face was.

　　“大衛(wèi)少爺，請出來一下好嗎?”他說。我走了出來，哈姆輕輕地關好門。雨下得很大，當我們倆孤零零地站在海灘上時，我發(fā)現(xiàn)哈姆臉色十分蒼白。

　　‘Ham!’I cried.‘What's the matter?’

　　“哈姆!”我叫道，“出什么事了?”

　　‘Master David!’he sobbed wildly.I had never seen such a strong man cry like that before.

　　“大衛(wèi)少爺!”他失聲痛哭。我從未見過這樣一個強壯的男子如此傷心地哭過。

　　‘It's Emily!I'd have died for her!I love her with all my heart!But she's run away and—worse than that!Oh，how I wish God had saved her from this ruin!’

　　“是埃米莉!我情愿為她而死!我全身心地愛她!可她離家出走了——甚至更糟糕!噢，真希望上帝能把她從這場災難中解救出來!”

　　I shall never fonget his desperate face turned towards me，and the pain in his honest eyes.

　　我永遠忘不了他轉(zhuǎn)向我時臉上那絕望的表情，忘不了他誠實的眼睛里流露出的痛苦。

　　‘You're educated，Master David!’he continued.‘You know how to express yourself!Help me!How can I ever ex-plain to him in there?He loves her even more than I do!’

　　“你是受過教育的人，大衛(wèi)少爺!”他繼續(xù)道，“你知道如何表達自己!幫幫我!我怎么能跟那邊的他解釋?他甚至比我更愛她!”

　　I saw the door open，and tried to stop Ham speaking，but it was too late.Daniel Peggotty came out，and when he saw us，he seemed to realize immediately what we were talking about.The expression on his face changed in a moment，and he pulled us both back inside.I found myself with a letter in my hand which Ham had given me.

　　我看見門開了，想制止哈姆繼續(xù)往下說，可已經(jīng)晚了。丹尼爾·辟果提已經(jīng)走出來了。他看見我們時似乎立刻意識到我們在說什么。一時間他臉上的表情改變了，他把我倆拉回屋里。我這才發(fā)現(xiàn)我手上拿著哈姆剛給我的一封信。

　　‘Read it，sir，’said Daniek，his face pale and trembling and his eyes wild.‘Read it slowly，please.’

　　“念念，先生，”丹尼爾說道，他臉色蒼白，渾身發(fā)顫，目光咄咄逼人，“請念慢一點。”

　　The room was completely silent as I read aloud：

　　屋子里一片寂靜，我開始念道：

　　Dear Ham，

　　親愛的哈姆：

　　Please， please， forgive me for running away and leaving you.When you see this，I'll be far away.I shall never return to my dear home unless he marries me and brings me back as a lady.Oh，I'm so sorry，and so ashamed!I know this will break your heart，but believe me，I'm not good enough for you!I'm too wicked.Tell Uncle I'll always love him，even if he can never love me again.And I'll always think of you，dear Ham，even if you hate me for what I've done.Forgive me，and goodbye!

　　請，請你原諒，我離開家，離開你。你讀到此信時，我已經(jīng)在很遠的地方了，我將不再回我親愛的家，除非他娶了我并以夫人的身份把我?guī)Щ丶摇｀?，真是很對不起，我非常慚愧!我知道這會傷透你的心，但相信我，我配不上你!我太卑賤了。告訴叔叔我會永遠愛他，即便他永不再愛我。我會永遠記得你，親愛的哈姆，即便你恨我的所作所為。原諒我，再見!

　　Emily

　　埃米莉

　　Daniel did not move for a long time after I had finished reading.I took his hand，but he did not notice.Suddenly he appeared to wake up，and said in a low voice，

　　我讀完信后，丹尼爾很長時間一動不動。我握住他的手，他沒有反應。突然他像是剛蘇醒似地低聲問道：

　　‘Who's the man?I want to know his name.’

　　“那個男人是誰?我想知道他的名字。”

　　Ham looked quickly at me，and I felt a shock run through my whole body.I fell on to a chair and could not speak.

　　哈姆很快看了我一眼，我感覺渾身一陣顫栗，我跌坐在椅子上，說不出話來。

　　‘Don't listen，Master David，’Ham said，hesitating，‘we don't blame you for it.’Peggotty put her arm round my neck，but I could not move.‘A—gentleman's been here very often recently，’continued Ham in a broken voice，‘and—to-day people saw Emily driving off with him in his coach!’

　　“你可以不聽，大衛(wèi)少爺。”哈姆遲疑地說道，“我們不會怪你的。”辟果提把手臂搭在我脖子上，可我動彈不了。“一位——先生最近總在這兒出現(xiàn)。”哈姆斷斷續(xù)續(xù)地繼續(xù)道，“然后——今天，有人看見埃米莉坐在他的馬車上走了!”

　　‘Tell me!’cried Daniel wildly.‘Is his name Steerforth?’

　　“告訴我!”丹尼爾瘋狂地叫起來，“他的名字是斯提福茲?”

　　‘It is!’replied Ham just as wildly，‘and I'm sorry，Master David，but he's the wickedest man I've ever known!’

　　“是的!”哈姆同樣瘋狂地回答，“很抱歉，大衛(wèi)少爺，可他是我所知道的最為卑劣的人!”

　　After a moment Daniel spoke.He looked suddenly much older.‘I wish I'd drowned him when I had the chance!But it's too late now.There's no peace for me here while my dear girl is away.I'm going to look for her，and bring her back home.Don't any of you try to stop me!Ham，you must stay here in Yarmouth.Keep a light always burning in the window of this house，so that if the poor girl ever comes back，she can find her way home across the sand.I'm going to London，and France，and all over the world if necessary.I'm prepared to spend my whole life travelling until I find her.If anything happens to me，if I don't come back，tell her I forgive her—tell her my love for her is unchanged!’

　　過了一會兒，丹尼爾說話了，他突然像是蒼老了許多。“要是有機會我會溺死他!但現(xiàn)在一切都晚了!我親愛的孩子不在這兒了，我是不會安寧的。我要去找她，把她帶回家。你們誰也別攔我!哈姆，你必須守在雅茅斯。讓屋子窗戶上永遠亮一盞燈，這樣，可憐的孩子一旦回來，也好讓她穿過沙灘找到回家的路。我要去倫敦、法國，以至全世界，如果必要的話。要準備一輩子流浪下去，直到我找到她。要是我出了什么事，要是我回不來了，告訴她我原諒她——告訴她我對她的愛永遠不變!”

　　And although we all tried hard to persuade him to stay，he refused to listen.He took his coat，hat，bag and stick，and stepped out into the darkness.We watched him walking along the London road，until he disappeared from sight.I often thought of that lonely figure in the next few weeks and months，walking through strange streets in foreign cities，looking for his adopted child.When I thought of him，I remembered his last words to us：If anything happens to me，if I don't come back，tell her forgive her—tell her my love for her is unchanged!

　　雖然我們大家都竭力勸他不要去，但他聽不進去。他拿起外套、帽子、背包和手杖，走出屋子，踏進夜色之中。我們目送他走上去往倫敦的路，直到看不見為止。在此后的幾周直至幾個月中，我時常想起這個孤獨的身影，想象他走上異鄉(xiāng)陌生的街頭，尋找他的養(yǎng)女。想到他我就記起他跟我們說的最后幾句話：要是我出了什么事，要是我回不來了，告訴她我原諒她——告訴她我對她的愛永遠不變!