遲到情書(shū)雙語(yǔ)美文
I was always a little in awe of Great-aunt Stephina Roos. Indeed, as children we were all frankly terrified of her. The fact that she did not live with the family, preferring her tiny cottage and solitude to the comfortable but rather noisy household where we were brought up-added to the respectful fear in which she was held.
我對(duì)斯蒂菲娜老姑總是懷著敬畏之情。說(shuō)實(shí)在話，我們幾個(gè)孩子對(duì)她都怕得要死。她不和家人一塊生活，寧愿住在她的小屋子里，而不愿住在舒舒服服、熱熱鬧鬧的家里--我們六個(gè)孩子都是在家里帶大的--這更加重了我們對(duì)她的敬畏之情。
We used to take it in turn to carry small delicacies which my mother had made down from the big house to the little cottage where Aunt Stephia and an old colored maid spent their days. Old Tnate Sanna would open the door to the rather frightened little messenger and would usher him-or her - into the dark voor-kamer, where the shutters were always closed to keep out the heat and the flies. There we would wait, in trembling but not altogether unpleasant.
我們經(jīng)常輪替著從我們住的大房子里帶些母親為她做的可口的食品到她和一名黑人女仆一塊過(guò)活的那間小屋里去。桑娜老姨總是為每一個(gè)上門(mén)來(lái)的怯生生的小使者打開(kāi)房門(mén)，將他或她領(lǐng)進(jìn)昏暗的客廳。那里的百葉窗長(zhǎng)年關(guān)閉著，以防熱氣和蒼蠅進(jìn)去。我們總是在那里哆哆嗦嗦、但又不是完全不高興地等著斯蒂菲娜老姑出來(lái)。
She was a tiny little woman to inspire so much veneration. She was always dressed in black, and her dark clothes melted into the shadows of the voor-kamer and made her look smaller than ever. But you felt. The moment she entered. That something vital and strong and somehow indestructible had come in with her, although she moved slowly, and her voice was sweet and soft.
一個(gè)像她那樣身材纖細(xì)的女人居然能贏得我們?nèi)绱俗鹁�。她總是身穿黑色衣服，與客廳里的陰暗背景融成一體，將她的身材襯托得更加?jì)尚�。但她一進(jìn)門(mén)，我們就感到有一種說(shuō)不清道不明、充滿活力和剛強(qiáng)的氣氛，盡管她的步子慢悠、聲調(diào)甜柔。
She never embraced us. She would greet us and take out hot little hands in her own beautiful cool one, with blue veins standing out on the back of it, as though the white skin were almost too delicate to contain them.
她從不擁抱我們，但總是和我們寒暄，將我們熱乎乎的小手握在她那雙秀美清爽的手里，她的手背上露出一些青筋，就像手上白嫩的皮膚細(xì)薄得遮不住它們似的。
Tante Sanna would bring in dishes of sweet, sweet, sticky candy, or a great bowl of grapes or peaches, and Great-aunt Stephina would converse gravely about happenings on the farm ,and, more rarely, of the outer world.
桑娜阿姨每次都要端出幾碟粘乎乎的南非糖果和一缽葡萄或桃子給我們吃。斯蒂菲娜老姑總是一本正經(jīng)他說(shuō)些農(nóng)場(chǎng)里的事，偶爾也談些外邊世界發(fā)生的事。
When we had finished our sweetmeats or fruit she would accompany us to the stoep, bidding us thank our mother for her gift and sending quaint, old-fashioned messages to her and the Father. Then she would turn and enter the house, closing the door behind, so that it became once more a place of mystery.
待我們吃完糖果或水果，她總要將我們送到屋前的門(mén)廊，叮囑我們要多謝母親給她送食品，要我們對(duì)父母親轉(zhuǎn)達(dá)一些稀奇古怪的.老式祝愿，然后就轉(zhuǎn)身回到屋里，隨手關(guān)上門(mén)，使那里再次成為神秘世界。
As I grew older I found, rather to my surprise, that I had become genuinely fond of my aloof old great-aunt. But to this day I do not know what strange impulse made me take George to see her and to tell her, before I had confided in another living soul, of our engagement. To my astonishment, she was delighted.
讓我感到吃驚的是，隨著我逐漸長(zhǎng)大，我發(fā)現(xiàn)打心眼里喜歡起我那位孤伶伶的老姑姑來(lái)。至今我仍不知道那是一種什么樣的奇異動(dòng)力，使我在還沒(méi)有透露給別人之前就把喬治領(lǐng)去看望姑姑，告訴她我們已經(jīng)訂婚的消息。不成想，聽(tīng)到這個(gè)消息以后，她竟非常高興。
"An Englishman,"she exclaimed."But that is splendid, splendid. And you,"she turned to George,"you are making your home in this country? You do not intend to return to England just yet?"
"是英國(guó)人!"她驚訝地大聲說(shuō)道，"好極了。你，"她轉(zhuǎn)向喬治，"你要在南非安家嗎?你現(xiàn)在不打算回國(guó)吧?"
She seemed relieved when she heard that George had bought a farm near our own farm and intended to settle in South Africa. She became quite animated, and chattered away to him.
當(dāng)她聽(tīng)說(shuō)喬治已經(jīng)在我們農(nóng)場(chǎng)附近購(gòu)置了一片農(nóng)場(chǎng)并打算定居下來(lái)時(shí)，好像松了一口氣。她興致勃勃地和喬治攀談起來(lái)。
After that I would often slip away to the little cottage by the mealie lands. Once she was somewhat disappointed on hearing that we had decided to wait for two years before getting married, but when she learned that my father and mother were both pleased with the match she seemed reassured.
從那以后，我常常到那所位于玉米地邊的小屋。有一次，當(dāng)斯蒂菲娜老姑聽(tīng)說(shuō)我們決定再過(guò)兩年結(jié)婚時(shí)，露出了失望的神色，但一聽(tīng)說(shuō)我的父母親都對(duì)這門(mén)親事滿意時(shí)，她又放寬了心。
Still, she often appeared anxious about my love affair, and would ask questions that seemed to me strange, almost as though she feared that something would happen to destroy my romance. But I was quite unprepared for her outburst when I mentioned that George thought of paying a lightning visit to England before we were married."He must not do it,"she cried."Ina, you must not let him go. Promise me you will prevent him."she was trembling all over. I did what I could to console her, but she looked so tired and pale that I persuaded her to go to her room and rest, promising to return the next day.
但她對(duì)我的婚姻大事還是經(jīng)常掛在嘴邊。她常常問(wèn)一些怪怪的問(wèn)題，幾乎像擔(dān)心我的婚事會(huì)告吹一樣。當(dāng)我提到喬治打算在婚前匆匆回一趟國(guó)時(shí)，她竟激動(dòng)了起來(lái)。只見(jiàn)她渾身哆嗦著大聲嚷道："他不能回去!愛(ài)娜!你不能放他走，你得答應(yīng)我不放他走!"我盡力安慰她，但她還是顯得萎靡不振。我只得勸她回屋休息，并答應(yīng)第二天再去看她。
When I arrived I found her sitting on the stoep. She looked lonely and pathetic, and for the first time I wondered why no man had ever taken her and looked after her and loved her. Mother had told me that Great-aunt Stephina had been lovely as a young girl, and although no trace of that beauty remained, except perhaps in her brown eyes, yet she looked so small and appealing that any man, one felt, would have wanted to protect her.
我第二天去看她時(shí)，她正坐在屋前的門(mén)廊上，流露出抑郁孤寂的神情。我第一次感到納悶：以前怎么沒(méi)有人娶她、照料和愛(ài)撫她呢?記得母親曾經(jīng)說(shuō)過(guò)，斯蒂菲娜老姑以前曾是一個(gè)楚楚可愛(ài)的小姑娘。盡管除了她那褐色的眼睛尚能保留一點(diǎn)昔日的風(fēng)韻之外，她的美貌早已蕩然無(wú)存。但她看上去還是那樣小巧玲瓏、惹人愛(ài)憐，引起男人們的惜香憐玉之情。She paused, as though she did not quite know how to begin.
Then she seemed to give herself, mentally, a little shake. "You must have wondered ", she said, "why I was so upset at the thought of young Georges going to England without you. I am an old woman, and perhaps I have the silly fancies of the old, but I should like to tell you my own love story, and then you can decide whether it is wise for your man to leave you before you are married."
我走到她的跟前。她拍著身邊的椅子，淡淡一笑。"坐下吧，親愛(ài)的，"她說(shuō)，"我有話要告訴你。"她欲言又止，好像不知道話從何說(shuō)起似的。接著，她仿佛振作了起來(lái)。她說(shuō)："我聽(tīng)你說(shuō)喬治要回國(guó)，又不帶你走，心里非常不安。我這份心事你是不明白的。我是一個(gè)老婆子了，大概還懷著老人們的那顆癡心吧。不過(guò)，我想把自己的愛(ài)情故事講給你聽(tīng)。這樣你就能明白在你們結(jié)婚之前讓你的未婚夫離開(kāi)你，是不是一個(gè)明智之舉。"
"I was quite a young girl when I first met Richard Weston. He was an Englishman who boarded with the Van Rensburgs on the next farm, four or five miles from us. Richard was not strong. He had a weak chest, and the doctors had sent him to South Africa so that the dry air could cure him. He taught the Van Rensburg children, who were younger than I was, though we often played together, but he did this for pleasure and not because he needed money.
"我第一次遇見(jiàn)理查德威斯頓時(shí)還是一個(gè)年輕姑娘。他是一個(gè)英國(guó)人，寄宿在我家附近四、五英里一個(gè)農(nóng)場(chǎng)上的范倫斯堡家里。他身體不好，胸悶氣短。醫(yī)生讓他去南非讓干燥的氣候治好他的病。他教倫斯堡的孩子們念書(shū)，他們都比我小，盡管我們經(jīng)常在一塊玩。理查德是以教書(shū)為樂(lè)，并不是為了賺錢(qián)。
"We loved one another from the first moment we met, though we did not speak of our love until the evening of my eighteenth birthday. All our friends and relatives had come to my party, and in the evening we danced on the big old carpet which we had laid down in the barn. Richard had come with the Van Rensburgs, and we danced together as often as we dared, which was not very often, for my father hated the Uitlanders. Indeed, for a time he had quarreled with Mynheer Van Rensburg for allowing Richard to board with him, but afterwards he got used to the idea, and was always polite to the Englishman, though he never liked him.
"我和理查德是一見(jiàn)鐘情，盡管直到我18歲生日那天我們才表示彼此的愛(ài)慕之情。那天晚上的舞會(huì)上，我們的親友都來(lái)了。我們?cè)趥}(cāng)房里鋪上一條寬大的舊毛毯，翩翩起舞。我和他壯起膽子頻頻起舞。但事實(shí)上，沒(méi)有多少次，因?yàn)槲业母赣H很討厭洋人。有一次，他曾抱怨說(shuō)倫斯堡先生不應(yīng)該讓理查德寄住在他的家里，為此還跟他吵過(guò)一場(chǎng)，他后來(lái)就習(xí)以為常了。雖談不上喜歡，但對(duì)這個(gè)英國(guó)人以禮相待。"那是我一生中最快樂(lè)的一個(gè)生日，因?yàn)槔聿榈略谔栝g歇將我領(lǐng)到外面清涼的月光中，在點(diǎn)點(diǎn)繁星之下對(duì)我傾訴愛(ài)慕之情，并向我求婚。我二話沒(méi)說(shuō)答應(yīng)了他的要求，因?yàn)槲以缫研淖砩衩�，想不到父母親會(huì)說(shuō)什么。我的心中除了理查德和他的愛(ài)情，什么也顧不上了。"That was the happiest birthday of my life, for while we were resting between dances Richard took me outside into the cool, moonlit night, and there, under the stars ,he told me he loved me and asked me to marry him. Of course I promised I would, for I was too happy to think of what my parents would say, or indeed of anything except Richard was not at our meeting place as he had arranged. I was disappointed but not alarmed, for so many things could happen to either of us to prevent out keeping our tryst. I thought that next time we visited the Van Ransburgs, I should hear what had kept him and we could plan further meetings...
"從那以后，我們就盡可能多地見(jiàn)面，但往往是秘密進(jìn)行。我們就這樣度過(guò)了將近1年時(shí)間。后來(lái)有一天，在他安排的約會(huì)處，理查德爽約沒(méi)有來(lái)。失望之際，我沒(méi)有大驚小怪，因?yàn)槲覀儌z誰(shuí)碰到形形色色的事都可能使我們無(wú)法幽會(huì)。我想我們以后去范倫斯堡家看望之時(shí)，我就會(huì)明白理查德未能赴約的原因，再安排以后的約會(huì)
"So when my father asked if I would drive with him to Driefontein I was delighted. But when we reached the homestead and were sitting on the stoep drinking our coffee, we heard that Richard had left quite suddenly and had gone back to England. His father had died, and now he was the heir and must go back to look after his estates.
"所以，當(dāng)父親問(wèn)我是否愿意和他一塊開(kāi)車(chē)去德里方丹時(shí)，我就高興地答應(yīng)了。但待我們趕到范倫斯堡家，坐在他們家屋前的門(mén)廊上喝咖啡時(shí)，卻聽(tīng)說(shuō)理查德已經(jīng)不辭而別回英國(guó)去了。他的父親死了，他是繼承人，不得不回去料理遺產(chǎn)。"I do not remember very much more about that day, except that the sun seemed to have stopped shining and the country no longer looked beautiful and full of promise, but bleak and desolate as it sometimes does in winter or in times of drought. Late that afternoon, Jantje, the little Hottentot herd boy, came up to me and handed me a letter , which he said the English baas had left for me. It was the only love letter I ever received, but it turned all my bitterness and grief into a peacefulness which was the nearest I could get, then, to happiness. I knew Richard still loved me, and somehow, as long as I had his letter, I felt that we could never be really parted, even if he were in England and I had to remain on the farm. I have it yet, and though I am an old, tired woman, it still gives me hope and courage."
"那天的事我記不大清楚了，只記得當(dāng)時(shí)陽(yáng)光慘淡，田野也失去了美麗的豐采和欣欣向榮的景象，蕭瑟凄涼得跟冬天或大旱時(shí)一樣。那天傍晚，在我和父親動(dòng)身回家之前，霍但托特族的小牧童詹杰交給我一封信，他說(shuō)是那位英國(guó)老爺留給我的。這可是我有生以來(lái)收到的唯一的情書(shū)!它將我的憂傷一掃而光，使我的心情變得平靜--當(dāng)時(shí)對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)幾乎類似幸福的平靜。我知道理查德仍在愛(ài)著我。不知怎么回事，有了這封信，我便覺(jué)得我們不可能真正分開(kāi)，哪怕他到了英國(guó)、我還留在南非的農(nóng)場(chǎng)。這封信我至今仍保留著，盡管我已經(jīng)年邁體衰，但它仍能帶給我希望和勇氣。"
I was always a little in awe of Great-aunt Stephina Roos. Indeed, as children we were all frankly terrified of her. The fact that she did not live with the family, preferring her tiny cottage and solitude to the comfortable but rather noisy household where we were brought up-added to the respectful fear in which she was held.
我對(duì)斯蒂菲娜老姑總是懷著敬畏之情。說(shuō)實(shí)在話，我們幾個(gè)孩子對(duì)她都怕得要死。她不和家人一塊生活，寧愿住在她的小屋子里，而不愿住在舒舒服服、熱熱鬧鬧的家里--我們六個(gè)孩子都是在家里帶大的--這更加重了我們對(duì)她的敬畏之情。
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