(雙語)月亮和六便士 第55章(1)
Chapter 55
第五十五章
Mr. Coutras was an old Frenchman of great stature and exceeding bulk. His body was shaped like a huge duck's egg; and his eyes, sharp, blue, and good-natured, rested now and then with self-satisfaction on his enormous paunch. His complexion was florid and his hair white. He was a man to attract immediate sympathy. He received us in a room that might have been in a house in a provincial town in France, and the one or two Polynesian curios had an odd look. He took my hand in both of his—they were huge—and gave me a hearty look, in which, however, was great shrewdness. When he shook hands with Capitaine Brunot he enquired politely after Madame et les enfants. For some minutes there was an exchange of courtesies and some local gossip about the island, the prospects of copra and the vanilla crop; then we came to the object of my visit.
庫特拉斯醫(yī)生是一個又高又胖的法國人，已經(jīng)有了一把年紀。他的體型好象一只大鴨蛋，一對藍眼睛的的逼人，卻又充滿了善意，時不時地帶著志滿意得的神情落在自己鼓起的大肚皮上。他的臉色紅撲撲的，配著一頭白發(fā)，讓人一看見就發(fā)生好感。他接見我們的地方很象在法國小城市里的一所住宅，兩件波利尼西亞的擺設(shè)在屋子里顯得非常刺眼。庫特拉斯醫(yī)生用兩只手握住我的手——他的手很大——，親切地看著我；但是從他的眼神我卻可以看出他是個非常精明的人。在他同布呂諾船長握手的時候，他很客氣地問候夫人和孩子。我們寒暄了幾句。又閑扯了一會兒本地的各種新聞，今年椰子和香草果的收成等等。這以后談話轉(zhuǎn)到我這次來訪的本題。
I shall not tell what Dr. Coutras related to me in his words, but in my own, for I cannot hope to give at second hand any impression of his vivacious delivery. He had a deep, resonant voice, fitted to his massive frame, and a keen sense of the dramatic. To listen to him was, as the phrase goes, as good as a play; and much better than most.
我現(xiàn)在只能用自己的語言把庫特拉斯給我講的故事寫下來；他當時給我敘述時，繪聲繪色，他的原話經(jīng)我一轉(zhuǎn)述就要大為減色，他的嗓音低沉，帶著回音，同他魁梧的體格非常相配。他說話時很善于表演。聽他講話，正象一般人愛用的一個譬喻，就象在觀看戲劇，而且比大多數(shù)戲演得更為精彩。
