雙語·面紗 第四十三章

43

The chapel was no more than a long low room with whitewashed walls and rows of deal benches; at the end was the altar on which stood the image; it was in plaster of Paris painted in crude colors; it was very bright and new and garish. Behind it was a picture in oils of the Crucifixion with the two Marys at the foot of the Cross in extravagant attitudes of grief. The drawing was bad and the dark pigments were put on with an eye that knew nothing of the beauty of color. Around the walls were the Stations of the Cross painted by the same unfortunate hand. The chapel was hideous and vulgar.

The nuns on entering knelt down to say a prayer and then, rising, the Mother Superior began once more to chat with Kitty.

“Everything that can be broken is broken when it comes here, but the statue presented to us by our benefactor came from Paris without so much as the smallest chip. There is no doubt that it was a miracle.”

Waddington's malicious eyes gleamed, but he held his tongue.

“The altarpiece and the Stations of the Cross were painted by one of our Sisters, Soeur St. Anselme.” The Mother Superior crossed herself. “She was a real artist. Unfortunately, she fell a victim to the epidemic. Do you not think that they are very beautiful?”

Kitty faltered an affirmative. On the altar were bunches of paper flowers and the candlesticks were distractingly ornate.

“We have the privilege of keeping here the Blessed Sacrament.”

“Yes?” said Kitty, not understanding.

“It has been a great comfort to us during this time of so terrible trouble.”

They left the chapel and retraced their steps to the parlour in which they had first sat.

“Would you like to see the babies that came in this morning before you go?”

“Very much,” said Kitty.

The Mother Superior led them into a tiny room on the other side of the passage. On a table, under a cloth, there was a singular wriggling. The Sister drew back the cloth and displayed four tiny, naked infants. They were very red and they made funny restless movements with their arms and legs; their quaint little Chinese faces were screwed up into strange grimaces. They looked hardly human; queer animals of an unknown species, and yet there was something singularly moving in the sight. The Mother Superior looked at them with an amused smile.

“They seem very lively. Sometimes they are brought in only to die. Of course we baptize them the moment they come.”

“The lady's husband will be pleased with them,” said Sister St. Joseph. “I think he could play by the hour with the babies. When they cry he has only to take them up, and he makes them comfortable in the crook of his arm, so that they laugh with delight.”

Then Kitty and Waddington found themselves at the door. Kitty gravely thanked the Mother Superior for the trouble she had taken. The nun bowed with a condescension that was at once dignified and affable.

“It has been a great pleasure. You do not know how kind and helpful your husband has been to us. He has been sent to us by Heaven. I am glad that you came with him. When he goes home it must be a great comfort to him to have you there with your love and your--your sweet face. You must take care of him and not let him work too hard. You must look after him for all our sakes.”

Kitty flushed. She did not know what to say. The Mother Superior held out her hand and while she held it Kitty was conscious of those cool, thoughtful eyes which rested on her with detachment and yet with something that looked like a profound understanding.

Sister St. Joseph closed the door behind them and Kitty got into her chair. They went back through the narrow, winding streets. Waddington made a casual remark: Kitty did not answer. He looked round, but the side curtains of the chair were drawn and he could not see her. He walked on in silence. But when they reached the river and she stepped out, to his surprise he saw that her eyes were streaming with tears.

“What is the matter?” he asked, his face puckered into an expression of dismay.

“Nothing.” She tried to smile. “Only foolishness.”

第四十三章

小教堂只不過是一個(gè)狹長低矮的房間，四周是白色石灰水粉刷過的墻壁，以及一排排的長條板凳。圣壇的盡頭立著一個(gè)用熟石膏做成的圣像，涂繪著粗陋的色彩，很亮麗、嶄新和俗艷。圣像的后面是一幅油畫，畫著耶穌被釘在十字架上受難的情景，兩個(gè)瑪利亞在十字架的下面，悲傷的神情很是夸張。這幅畫畫得很蹩腳，黑色的顏料糊在上面，顯然作者對色彩的美學(xué)一無所知。墻的四周是同一作者所畫的耶穌受難經(jīng)過的畫像[1]，也同樣糟糕。這個(gè)小教堂看上去是那么的丑陋和粗俗。

修女們走進(jìn)教堂，跪了下來默念禱告詞，隨后又站了起來。院長嬤嬤又一次和凱蒂聊起天來。

“當(dāng)東西運(yùn)到這兒的時(shí)候，每一件易碎的東西都碎了，只有我們眼前的這個(gè)雕像，它由我們在巴黎的捐助者所贈(zèng)，絲毫沒有損壞，這無疑是個(gè)奇跡?！?/p>

威廷頓古靈精怪的眼睛又閃亮了，但這次他沒有說話。

“祭壇的裝飾品和耶穌受難組像是我們的一個(gè)修女——圣安舍爾米姐妹畫的?！痹洪L嬤嬤在胸前畫了一個(gè)十字，“她是個(gè)真正的藝術(shù)家，不幸的是，她也成了這場瘟疫的犧牲品。你不認(rèn)為這些作品非常漂亮嗎？”

凱蒂支吾了一下，勉強(qiáng)說了幾句肯定的話。在祭壇上，有好幾束紙花，燭臺(tái)華麗的裝飾讓人分神。

“我們非常榮幸能在這兒分發(fā)圣餐。”

“是嗎？”凱蒂說道，似乎不太理解。

“在可怕的災(zāi)難降臨的時(shí)候，這對我們來說是莫大的安慰?！?/p>

他們離開了小教堂，又重新回到了他們一開始落座的客廳。

“在你離開之前，你愿意看看今天上午送來的嬰兒嗎？”

“非常樂意?！眲P蒂說道。

院長嬤嬤領(lǐng)著他們來到走廊另一邊的小房間里，在一張桌子上，有什么東西在一塊布的下面奇怪地蠕動(dòng)著。圣約瑟夫修女拿掉了那塊布，四個(gè)非常小的、赤裸的嬰兒露了出來，他們的身體發(fā)紅，胳膊和腿兒在不安地亂動(dòng)著，看上去很滑稽。他們古怪的小臉奇怪地揪揪著，好像在扮鬼臉。他們看上去都不像人類，而是一些未知物種的奇異動(dòng)物，在人們的視線中詭異地動(dòng)著。院長嬤嬤看著他們，嘴角上帶著微笑，好像覺得很好玩。

“他們似乎活蹦亂跳的，有時(shí)他們被帶來時(shí)都快死了。當(dāng)然，他們一到，我們就給他們施洗禮?！?/p>

“這位女士的丈夫和這些孩子在一起一定會(huì)很開心?！笔ゼs瑟夫修女說道，“我覺得他會(huì)按鐘點(diǎn)來和這些嬰兒玩的，他們哭的時(shí)候，他只能把他們抱起來，在他的臂彎中悠晃著，讓他們覺得舒服，他們甚至?xí)烽_了花。”

當(dāng)凱蒂和威廷頓準(zhǔn)備告辭來到門口的時(shí)候，凱蒂鄭重地向院長嬤嬤表示感謝，對她造訪所帶來的麻煩表示歉意。嬤嬤鞠了一躬，但威嚴(yán)而又可親的神態(tài)立即又恢復(fù)了。

“您的來訪讓我十分榮幸，您不知道您的丈夫?qū)ξ覀冇卸嗝吹暮?，真是幫了我們大忙了。他是上帝派給我們的，我很高興您陪他一起來了。他工作一天回到家里后，一定會(huì)感到極大的放松和寬慰，因?yàn)橛铀挠心膼?，還有您的——您的甜美的面龐。您一定要照顧好他，不要讓他工作得太辛苦，您千萬要替我們大家伙兒照顧好他呀?！?/p>

凱蒂的臉唰地紅了，她一時(shí)不知說什么好。院長嬤嬤向她握手告別，凱蒂和她握手時(shí)，能夠感覺到她冷靜、睿智的目光落在自己身上，有一種冷靜客觀，同時(shí)又有某種看上去是對生活深刻理解的東西。

圣約瑟夫修女在他們身后關(guān)上了大門，凱蒂坐上了轎椅，他們通過狹窄、曲折的街道走上了返程的路。威廷頓偶爾閑聊幾句，而凱蒂?zèng)]有搭腔。他向轎椅看了看，但轎椅的窗簾已經(jīng)拉下來了，他看不見她的表情，只好一聲不吭地走著。但當(dāng)他們到了河邊時(shí)，她從轎椅中走了出來，讓他吃驚的是，他看到她的眼里閃動(dòng)著淚珠。

“怎么啦？”他問道，臉上的五官又?jǐn)D成一團(tuán)，露出驚愕的表情。

“沒什么。”她努力地想笑一笑，“只是犯傻?！?/p>

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[1]原文直譯為苦路十四處（The Stations of the Cross），指的是十四幅描繪耶穌受難經(jīng)過的畫像。