牛津書蟲系列 簡愛 chapter 22
22 Sudden wealth
22 財從天降
When St John left，it was beginning to snow，and it continued snowing all night and all the next day.In the evening I sat by my fire，listening to the wind blowing outside，and had just started reading when I heard a noise.The wind，I thought，was shaking the door，but no，it was St John，who came in out of the frozen darkness，his coat covered in snow.
圣約翰離開時，天下起雪來，持續(xù)了一晚上和第二天一天。晚上，我坐在爐邊，聽著屋外呼嘯的風(fēng)聲。我正要開始看書，突然聽到什么響動。我想是風(fēng)吹動門的聲音吧，但不是，是圣約翰。他從寒夜中走進(jìn)來，身上披滿雪花。
’what’s happened?’I cried，amazed.’I thought nobody would be out in weather like this!What’s the matter?’
“出了什么事?”我驚訝地問。“我以為沒人會在這種鬼天氣里外出。怎么啦?”
’There’s nothing wrong，’he answered calmly，hanging up his coat，and stamping the snow from his boots.’I just came to have a little talk to you.Besides，since yesterday I’ve been eager to hear the other half of your story.’He sat down.I had no idea what he was referring to，and remembering his strange behaviour with the piece of paper，I began to fear that he might be going mad.He looked quite normal，however，and we made conversation for a while，although he seemed to be thinking of something else.
“沒出什么事。”他平靜地說，一邊掛好帽子，并跺掉靴子上的積雪。“我只是要跟你談?wù)?。另外，從昨天開始，我很想聽聽你的另外一部分故事。”他坐了下來。我摸不清他指的是什么，想起他昨晚撕紙的奇怪舉動，我開始擔(dān)心他是不是要瘋了。但是，他看上去一切正常，我們說了會兒話，不過他顯然在想著別的事情。
Suddenly he said，’When I arrived I said I wanted to hear the rest of your story.But perhaps it’s better if I tell the story.I’m afraid you’ve heard it before，but listen anyway.Twenty years ago a poor vicar fell in love with a rich man’s daughter.She also fell in love with him，and married him，against the advice of all her family.Sadly，less than two years later the couple were both dead.I’ve seen their grave.Their baby daughter was brought up by an aunt，a Mrs Reed of Gateshead.You jumped— did you hear a noise? I’ll continue.I don’t know whether the child was happy with Mrs Reed，but she stayed there ten years，until she went to Lowood school，where you were yourself.In fact，it seems her life was quite similar to yours.She became a teacher at Lowood，as you did，and then became a governess in the house of a certain Mr Rochester.’
突然，他說：“我剛才到的時候，說我想聽聽你另一部分故事，不過也許由我來講更好。也許你以前聽過，但還是再聽聽吧!二十年前，一個窮牧師愛上了一個富家的女兒，女孩也愛上了他，和他結(jié)了婚，違背了家庭的意愿。不幸的是，不到兩年，他們便雙雙去世。我曾見到他們的墓。他們的小女兒由舅媽——蓋茨赫德的里德太太撫養(yǎng)長大。你抖了一下，是聽到什么動靜了嗎?我接著說。我不知道孩子跟著里德太太生活得是否幸福，但她在那兒住了十年，直到去洛伍德上學(xué)。你也在那兒待過。實(shí)際上，她的生活經(jīng)歷似乎和你很像。然后，她成了一位羅切斯特先生家的家庭教師。”
’Mr Rivers!’I interrupted，unable to keep silent.
“李維斯先生!”我無法再保持沉默，打斷了他。
’I can imagine how you feel，’he replied，’but wait till I’ve finished.I don’t know anything about Mr Rochester’s character，but I do know that he offered to marry this young girl，who only discovered during the wedding ceremony that he was in fact already married，to a mad woman.The governess disappeared soon after this，and although investigations have been carried out，and advertisements placed in newspapers，and every effort made to find her，nobody knows where she’s gone.But she must be found!Mr Briggs，a lawyer，has something very important to tell her.’
“我能夠想像你的感受，”他答道。“不過，還是先聽我說完。我不了解羅切斯特先生的性格，但他提出要娶這位年輕姑娘。姑娘是在婚禮上才發(fā)現(xiàn)他已經(jīng)結(jié)婚，妻子是個瘋女人。此后不久家庭教師很快失蹤了。盡管進(jìn)行了調(diào)查，報上登了啟事，用盡了一切辦法尋找她，還是沒人知道她的下落。但是，必須要找到她!律師布萊格斯先生有重要的事要跟她說。”
’Just tell me one thing，’I said urgently.’What about Mr Rochester?How and where is he?What’s he doing?Is he well?’
“就告訴我一件事。”我急切地說。“羅切斯特先生怎么了?他現(xiàn)在怎么樣?在哪兒?在做什么?他好嗎?”
’I know nothing about Mr Rochester.Why don’t you ask the name of the governess，and why everybody is looking for her?’
“我對羅切斯特先生一無所知。你為什么不問問家庭教師的名字，以及為什么大家都在找她?”
’Did Mr Briggs write to Mr Rochester?’I asked.
“布萊格斯先生給羅切斯特先生寫信了嗎?”我問。
’He did，but he received an answer not from him，but from the housekeeper，a Mrs Fairfax.’
“他寫過，但回信的不是他，而是管家，一位費(fèi)爾法斯太太。”
I felt cold and unhappy.No doubt Mr Rochester had left England for a life of wild pleasure in the cities of Europe.That was what I had been afraid of.Oh，my poor master—once almost my husband—who I had often called’ my dear Edward’!
我感到身上發(fā)冷，很不高興。無疑羅切斯特先生又離開英格蘭到歐洲的城市去尋歡作樂了，這正是我所擔(dān)心的。噢，我可憐的主人，差點(diǎn)兒成了我的丈夫，我曾經(jīng)常稱做“我親愛的愛德華”的人!
’As you won’t ask the governess’s name，I’ll tell you myself，’continued St John.’I’ve got it written down.It’s always better to have facts in black and white.’And he took out of his wallet a tiny piece of paper，which I recognized as part of my sketch book，and showed it to me.On it I read，in my own writing，’JANE EYRE’，which I must have written without thinking.
“既然你不問家庭教師的名字，我來告訴你。”圣約翰接著說。“我有筆頭證據(jù)，最好還是白紙黑字清楚些。”他拿出錢包，從里面抽出一張小紙片，拿給我看。我認(rèn)出那是我速寫本上的，上面是我自己的親筆字“簡·愛”，這一定是我無意之中寫上去的。
’The advertisements and Briggs spoke of a Jane Eyre，but I only knew a Jane Elliott，’said St John.’Are you Jane Eyre?’
“布萊格斯先生及啟事中提到一個簡·愛，但我只認(rèn)識一個簡·艾略特。”圣約翰說。“你是簡·愛嗎?”
’Yes—yes，but doesn’t Mr Briggs know anything about Mr Rochester?’I asked desperately.
“是的，是的，可布萊格斯先生就沒有羅切斯特先生的消息嗎?”我迫不急待地問。
’I don’t think Briggs is at all interested in Mr Rochester.You’re forgetting the really important thing.Don’t you want to know why he’s been looking for you?’
“我覺得布萊格斯先生對羅切斯特先生毫無興趣，你忘了真正重要的事。你想知道他為什么在找你嗎?”
’Well，what did he want?’I asked，almost rudely.
“好吧，他究竟想要什么?”我?guī)缀鯚o禮地問。
’Only to tell you that your uncle，Mr Eyre of Madeira，is dead，that he has left you all his property，and that you’re now rich—only that，nothing more.’
“只是想告訴你，你舅舅，馬迪拉的愛先生去世了，他把財產(chǎn)留給了你，你現(xiàn)在富有了。就這些，再沒別的了。”
Rich!One moment I was poor，the next moment I was wealthy.It was hard to realize my new situation.A fortune brings serious worries and responsibilities with it，which I could hardly imagine.I was sorry to hear that my uncle，my only surviving relation，was dead.However，the inheritance would give me independence for life，and I was glad of that.
富有!一時我很窮，一時我又富了。我很難意識到自己的新境遇。一筆財富可以帶來我根本無法想像的擔(dān)憂和責(zé)任。聽到我唯一活著的親人我的舅舅去世了，我感到很難過。但是繼承遺產(chǎn)可以讓我獨(dú)立生活，這點(diǎn)我很高興。
’Perhaps you would like to know how much you’ve inherited?’offered St John politely.’It’s nothing much really，just twenty thousand pounds，I think.’
“或許你想知道你繼承了多少財產(chǎn)?”圣約翰客氣地說。“其實(shí)并不很多，我想只有20 000英鎊。”
’Twenty thousand pounds?’The news took my breath away.St John，who I had never heard laugh before，actually laughed out loud at my shocked face.’Perhaps…perhaps you’ve made a mistake?’I asked him nervously.
“20 000英鎊?”這消息讓我停止了呼吸。我從未聽到過圣約翰的笑聲，這時他看到我吃驚的樣子，不禁大笑了起來。“也許……也許你搞錯了。”我膽怯地問他。
’No，there’s no mistake.Now I must be leaving.Good night.’He was about to open the door，when suddenly I called，’ Stop!Why did Mr Briggs write to you in order to find me?’
“不，沒有錯?，F(xiàn)在我得走了，晚安。”他正要開門，我突然喊道：“站住!為什么布萊格斯找我要寫信給你?”
’Oh，I’m a vicar.I have ways of discovering things.’
“哦，我是牧師，有途徑找到。”
’No，that doesn’t satisfy me.Tell me the truth，’I insisted，putting myself between him and the door.
“不，我不滿意你的話，告訴我實(shí)情。”我堅(jiān)持道，站在門前擋住他。
’Well，I’d rather not tell you just now，but I suppose you’ll discover it sooner or later.Did you know that my full name is St John Eyre Rivers?’
“我本不想現(xiàn)在告訴你，不過我想你早晚也會知道。你知道不知道我的全名叫圣約翰·愛·李維斯?”
’No，I didn’t!But then what—’And I stopped as light flooded my mind and I saw clearly the chain of circumstances which connected us.But St John continued his explanation.
“不，不知道!不過，那么這就是說……”我停住了，腦子里念頭一閃，開始明白聯(lián)系我們之間的那一連串的事情。但圣約翰繼續(xù)解釋著。
’My mother’s name was Eyre，’he said.’She had two brothers，one，a vicar，who married Miss Jane Reed of Gateshead，and the other，John Eyre of Madeira.Mr Briggs，Mr Eyre’s lawyer，wrote to us telling us that our uncle had died，and left all his property，not to us，because of his quarrel with our father，but to his brother’s daughter.Then Mr Briggs wrote again later，saying this girl could not be found.Well，I’ve found her.’He moved towards the door，his hat in his hand.
“我母親姓愛。”他說。“她有兩個哥哥，一個是牧師，娶了蓋茨赫德的簡·里德小姐，另一個就是馬迪拉的約翰·愛。布萊格斯先生是愛先生的律師，他寫信告訴我們舅舅死了。因?yàn)楹臀覀兊母赣H吵架，他沒有把財產(chǎn)留給我們，而是給了他弟弟的女兒。后來布萊格斯先生又寫信來，說找不到那位姑娘。不過，我把你找到了。”他手里拿著帽子朝門口走去。
’Wait a moment，just let me think，’I said.’So you，Diana and Mary are my cousins?’
“等一等，讓我想想。”我說。“那么戴安娜和瑪麗是我的表姐妹了?”
’We are your cousins，yes，’he said，waiting patiently.
“是的，我們是你的表親。”他耐心地等待著。
As I looked at him，it seemed I had found a brother and sisters to love and be proud of for the rest of my life.The people who had saved my life were my close relations!This was wealth indeed to a lonely heart，brighter and more life-giving than the heavy responsibility of coins and gold.
我看著他，好像自己找到了一個哥哥和兩個姐姐，可以一輩子愛他們，并以他們?yōu)闃s。原來救了我的命的人竟是我的近親!對一顆孤獨(dú)的心來說，這的確是一筆財富，比金錢帶來的沉重負(fù)擔(dān)更能照亮我的生命。
’Oh，I’m glad—I’m so glad!’I cried，laughing.
“啊，我真高興——我真高興!”我笑著，叫著。
St John smiled.’You were serious when I told you you had inherited a fortune.Now you’re excited about something very unimportant.’
圣約翰笑了。“我跟你說你繼承了財產(chǎn)時你很嚴(yán)肅，現(xiàn)在對這無關(guān)緊要的事你倒激動起來了。”
’What can you mean?It may mean nothing to you.You already have sisters and don’t need any more family.But I had nobody，and now I suddenly have three relations in my world，or two，if you don’t want to be counted.’I walked rapidly round the room，my thoughts rising so fast I could hardly understand them.The family I now had， the people who had saved me from starvation，I could now help them!There were the four of us cousins.Twenty thousand pounds，shared equally，would be five thousand pounds each，more than enough for each one of us.It would be a fair and just arrangement，and we would all be happy.I would no longer have the worry of controlling a large amount of money，and they would never have to work again.We would all be able to spend more time together at Moor House.
“你這是什么意思?這可能對你毫無意義。你已經(jīng)有兩個妹妹，不再需要什么親人了?？墒俏覜]有一個親人，而現(xiàn)在我的世界里卻突然有了三個親人，或許是兩個，如果你不愿被稱做一個的話。”我在屋里急步踱著，腦子里的念頭一個接一個地閃現(xiàn)，我自己都搞不懂了。我現(xiàn)在的親人，這些曾從饑餓中拯救過我的人，我如今可以幫助他們!我們表兄妹四個，均分 20 000英鎊，每人可得5 000英鎊，足夠用的。這樣安排公平合理，我們大家都會感到高興，我也不必再為掌握著這么多錢而擔(dān)心，她們也不必再工作了。我們可以有更多的時間一起生活在摩爾屋了。
Naturally，when I made this suggestion to St John and his sisters，they protested strongly，and it was with great difficulty that I finally managed to convince them of my firm intention to carry out this plan.In the end they agreed that it was a fair way of sharing the inheritance，and so the legal steps were taken to transfer equal shares to all of us.
我向圣約翰和他的妹妹們提出這個建議時，他們堅(jiān)決反對。我費(fèi)了很大力氣才說服她們我一定要這樣辦。最后他們終于同意這樣分配遺產(chǎn)是公平的，于是我們辦理了必要的法律手續(xù)，把財產(chǎn)平均劃到每個人名下。
