牛津書蟲系列 勃朗特一家的故事 09 Arthur Nicholls

9 亞瑟·尼可斯

That was not the end of my sadness.Anne，too，became ill.She could not breathe，she coughed，her face was white.But she was more sensible than Emily.She took all her medicines，and did everything the doctors said.It didn't help much.In the spring she said she wanted to go to the sea，to a warmer place.The doctors told her to wait.I thought she would die before she went.

我的悲哀還沒有結(jié)束。安妮也開始生病了，她呼吸費(fèi)力，咳嗽著，臉色蒼白。但她比愛米麗明智，她吃了各種藥，完全遵醫(yī)囑行事。可是并不管用。春天來了，她說想去海邊，去一個(gè)暖和些的地方，可大夫們讓她等等。我預(yù)感到她可能等不到動(dòng)身就會(huì)死去。

At last，in May， Charlotte went away with her. They went to York first，where they visited a wonderful church，York Minster.'If men can make something as beautiful as this，'Anne whispered，'what is God's real home like?'

最后在5月份，夏洛蒂和她一起，先去了約克，在那兒參觀了美麗的約克·敏斯特大教堂。“人類的作品已經(jīng)如此美麗，”安妮嘆息道，“上帝的家園又會(huì)是什么樣呢?”

Charlotte told me this in a letter she sent from Scarborough，a town by the sea on the north-east coast.

夏洛蒂在一封寄自斯卡伯勒的信中向我講述了這件事，那是位于東北部海邊的一個(gè)城鎮(zhèn)。

'On 26th May Anne rode a donkey on the beach，'the letter said.'She was very happy，papa.Afterwards we went to church and then sat and watched the sea for a long time.On the 28th she was too ill to go out. She died quietly at two o'clock in the afternoon.She will be buried in a graveyard near the sea.'

“5月26日安妮在岸邊騎了一頭驢子。”信中寫道，“她非?？旎?，爸爸。然后我們?nèi)チ私烫茫肿?，看著大海，在那兒待了很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間。28號(hào)她病得不能出門。下午兩點(diǎn)鐘她靜靜地死了。她將葬在海邊的墓地。”

Anne was the baby of the family，the youngest and prettiest of them all.Before she died，she wrote another book-The Tenant of Wildfell Hall—about a woman who left her cruel husband.She was proud of it，and so was I.She was twenty-nine years old.I don't want to die，papa，'she said.' I have too many ideas in my head，too many books to write.'

安妮是家中最小的孩子，最年輕，也最漂亮。她死前寫了另一本書——《瓦爾德費(fèi)爾莊園的房客》——關(guān)于一個(gè)婦女離開她殘酷的丈夫的故事。她為這本書自豪，我也是。她當(dāng)時(shí)29歲。“我不想死，爸爸。”她說，“我腦子里還有許多許多構(gòu)思，我還有許多許多的書要寫。”

When Charlotte came home the dogs barked happily.Per-haps they thought Anne and Emily and Branwell were coming home too—I don't know.But it was only Charlotte.The smallest of all my children.Not the prettiest，not the strongest，not the strangest.God had taken all those for himself.He had left me with the one who would become the most famous.And the one who nearly had a child.

夏洛蒂回家時(shí)，狗兒們歡快地叫著?；蛟S它們以為安妮、愛米麗和布蘭韋爾也一同回來了——我不知道?？墒侵挥邢穆宓?。我所有孩子中個(gè)子最小的一個(gè)，她不是最美的，不是最堅(jiān)強(qiáng)的，也不是最怪異的一個(gè)。上帝把其他孩子都召了回去，只留給我這個(gè)，但她將成為最有名的一個(gè)。她差一點(diǎn)就有了自己的孩子。

Charlotte wrote two more books：Shirley，about a strong brave woman like her sister Emily;and Villette，about love be-tween a teacher and a pupil.But Jane Eyre was her most fa-mous book.Everyone in England talked abut it;everyone wanted to read it.

夏洛蒂又寫了另外兩本書，《雪莉》是關(guān)于一個(gè)像愛米麗一樣堅(jiān)強(qiáng)勇敢的婦女的故事;《維萊特》寫的是一對(duì)師生之間的愛情故事。不過《簡(jiǎn)·愛》是她最著名的作品，英國(guó)上下每個(gè)人都在談?wù)撍?，每個(gè)人都想讀它。

Charlotte went to London and met many famous writers. I was very pleased;I loved to hear about the people and places that she saw.But she always came back to Haworth;she didn't like to be with famous people very long.And this quiet place was her home.

夏洛蒂去了倫敦，會(huì)晤了許多有名的作家。我非常高興;我愛聽她談?wù)撍姷降娜撕腿ミ^的地方。她最后總是回到霍沃斯。她不喜歡和有名的人物在一起待太長(zhǎng)時(shí)間。只有這個(gè)安靜的地方才是她的家。

In 1852，just before Christmas，a terrible thing happened.I heard some of it from my room.My curate，Arthur Nicholls，opened the door to Charlotte's sitting-room， and stood there.His face was white，and he was shaking.

1852年圣誕節(jié)前，發(fā)生了一件可怕的事。我從房間里聽到一些聲音。我的副牧師，亞瑟·尼可斯先生，推開了夏洛蒂起居室的門，站在那兒。他臉色蒼白，渾身發(fā)抖。

'Yes，Mr Nicholls?'Charlotte said.'Do you want to come in?'

“哦，尼可斯先生，”夏洛蒂說，“您想進(jìn)來嗎?”

'No，Miss Charlotte—that is， yes. I mean— I have some-thing important to say to you.'

“不，夏洛蒂小姐，——我是說是的。我的意思是——我有件重要的事要告訴您。”

I heard his voice stop for a moment and then he went on.'I have always…felt strongly about you，Miss Charlotte，and…my feelings are stronger，much stronger，than you know.And，well， the fact is， Miss Charlotte， that…I am asking you to be my wife.'

我聽見他的聲音停了一下，又繼續(xù)說道：“我對(duì)您總是……有一種強(qiáng)烈的感情，夏洛蒂小姐，而且……我的感情越來越強(qiáng)烈，比您知道的要強(qiáng)烈的多。嗯，那么，事實(shí)是，夏洛蒂小姐，那就是……我請(qǐng)求您做我的妻子。”

There was a long silence.I heard every word，and I felt cold and angry.Mr Nicholls was a good curate，but that was all.I paid him ￡100 a year to help me with my work，but he had no place in my house，or in my daughter's bed!I stood up， and opened my door.

一段長(zhǎng)時(shí)間的沉默。我聽見了每一個(gè)字，我又冷、又生氣。尼可斯先生是個(gè)優(yōu)秀的副牧師，但僅此而已。我一年付他100英鎊來幫我，可他在我家里沒有位置，更不可能和我女兒結(jié)婚!我站起身，把門推開。

'Mr，Nichols!'

“尼可斯先生!”

He turned and looked at me.I could see Charlotte behind him.

他轉(zhuǎn)過身來看著我。我看見夏洛蒂站在他身后。

'You will leave this house at once，Mr Nicholls.I am very，very angry!You must not speak to my daughter again-ever!Do you understand me?'

“你馬上離開這所房子，尼可斯先生!我非常生氣!不許你再和我女兒說話——永遠(yuǎn)!你聽明白了嗎?”

The stupid man was shaking and almost crying!I thought he was ill.He opened his mouth to speak，but no words came out.Then he turned and went out of the door.

那個(gè)笨家伙渾身顫抖著，快要哭出來了。我覺得他是生病了。他張開嘴巴，可是一個(gè)字也說不出。他轉(zhuǎn)身走出了房門。

Mr Nicholls stayed in his own house for three days.He re-fused to eat，the stupid man， and he sent me some angry letters.But Charlotte wrote to him，to say that she would not marry him.Then Mr Nicholls said he would leave Haworth，and go to Australia.

尼可斯先生在他的房間呆了3天。他絕食，這個(gè)笨家伙還寫了些憤怒的信給我。但夏洛蒂也給他寫了信，說她不會(huì)嫁給他。后來尼可斯先生說他要離開霍沃斯，去澳大利亞。

On his last day，in church， he had to give people bread to eat.But when he held out the bread to Charlotte，he could not do it， because he was shaking and crying so much. Afterwards，the people of Haworth gave him a gold watch.He cried aboutthat， too.

最后一天，在教堂他得給人們做分面包的儀式。當(dāng)他把面包遞給夏洛帝時(shí)，他簡(jiǎn)直不能進(jìn)行下去了，他哆嗦著，哭得那么厲害。然后，霍沃斯的人們送了他一塊金表。他為這個(gè)又哭了。

I thought it was all finished，but I was wrong.I think he wrote to Charlotte，and she wrote back.In April of 1854，he came back to Haworth.Charlotte brought him into my room. I looked at him， but I said nothing. I was not pleased.

我以為一切結(jié)束了，可我錯(cuò)了。我猜他寫信給夏洛蒂，而她也回了信。1854年4月，他又回到了霍沃斯，夏洛蒂把他帶進(jìn)我的房間，我看著他，一言不發(fā)。我挺不高興。

'Papa，'Charlotte said.'Mr Nicholls and I have something to say to you.'

“爸爸，”夏洛蒂說，“尼可斯先生和我有件事要告訴您。”

I did not like that.'Mr Nicholls and I…'It did not sound good to me.

我可不樂意她那么說：“尼可斯先生和我……”聽上去不大妙。

'I am busy，'I said.'I have a lot of work.'

“我沒空，”我說，“我有好多事要干。”

Charlotte smiled.'That's because you don't have a good curate，papa.When Mr Nicholls was here，your life was easy.'

夏洛蒂微笑了，“那是因?yàn)槟鷽]有一個(gè)稱職的副牧師，爸爸。如果尼可斯先生在這兒，您會(huì)很輕松的。”

'Perhaps，'I said.'But he was going to Australia， I thought.Why haven't you gone，sir?'

“也許吧，”我說道，“但我記得他要去澳大利亞的呀。您怎么還沒有走呵，先生?”

Mr Nicholls spoke for the first time.He looked very tall and proud，I thought.'There are two reasons，sir，'he said.'First，because I have decided not to go to Australia.And also…'

尼可斯先生第一次開口講了話。我記得他看上去個(gè)子很高，神情自豪。“有兩個(gè)原因，先生，”他說，“首先是因?yàn)槲覜Q定不去澳大利亞了，另外……”

He stopped，and looked down at Charlotte. She smiled up at him，and I felt my blood run cold.

他停下來，低頭看著夏洛蒂。她抬頭笑吟吟地望著他。我覺得血液都要冷卻了。

'…and also，because your daughter Charlotte and I would like to be married.We have come to ask you to agree.'

“……另外，因?yàn)槟呐畠合穆宓俸臀乙Y(jié)婚了。我們現(xiàn)在是來請(qǐng)求您的同意的。”

I don't remember what I said next.I think there were a lot of unkind words between us，and some tears.But in the end I agreed.I agreed because Charlotte wanted it，not because of Arthur Nicholls.

我記不得后來我說了什么，大概是我們兩人之間說了一大堆不友好的話，都流了淚。不過最后我還是同意了。之所以這樣做是為了夏洛蒂，這是她想要的;而不是因?yàn)閬喩?middot;尼可斯。

In June that year they were married in my church.I did not go—I could not give Charlotte away to that man.But he came back here to be my curate， and he and Charlotte lived in this house with me.He is still here now.

那年6月份，他們?cè)谖抑鞒值慕烫媒Y(jié)了婚，可我沒去——我不愿把夏洛蒂交給那個(gè)男人。但他仍回到這里來作我的副牧師。他、夏洛蒂和我一起住在這所房子里。他現(xiàn)在還在這兒。

Perhaps he will read this. If he does， he will know that he was right，and I was wrong.Mr Nicholls was，after all，a good husband for Charlotte.I understood，after a while， that he honestly loved her， and he could make her happy.She began to smile and laugh again.Her eyes shone，she sang sometimes as she worked.Our house became a home again.

或許他會(huì)讀到這段文字。如果讀了，他就會(huì)知道他是對(duì)的，而我錯(cuò)了。不管怎樣，尼可斯先生是夏洛蒂的好丈夫。他們結(jié)婚之后我才看出來。他真誠(chéng)地愛著她，也給她帶來了歡樂。她開始笑了，她的眸子閃耀著光彩。有時(shí)工作著就會(huì)唱起歌來。我們的家又像個(gè)家了。

She went with him to see his family in Ireland，and travelled to the far west of that country.Mr Nicholls did most of my church work for me. Charlotte began a new book Emma，she called it.And one day in December 1854 she came into my room，smiling.I could see that she was excited.

她和他一起去過他的愛爾蘭老家，一直旅行到西邊的盡頭。尼可斯先生為我分擔(dān)了教堂的絕大部分工作;夏洛蒂開始著手寫一本新書——《愛瑪》。1854年12月的一天，她來到了我的房間，臉上掛著微笑，看得出她很興奮。

'What is it，my dear? Have you finished your book?'

“怎么了，親愛的?你寫完書了?”

'No，not yet，papa.But I have something wonderful to tell you.What do you think?'

“不，還沒呢，爸爸。但我有個(gè)好消息告訴您。您猜是什么?”

'I don't know，my dear. If it's not your book，then…'

“我猜不出，親愛的。如果不是關(guān)于書的，那么……”

'I told Arthur yesterday.I am going to have a child.'

“我昨天已經(jīng)告訴了亞瑟。我懷孕了。”

I did not say anything.Her hand was on the table and I put my hand on it gently.It was wonderful news.I remembered when my own wife，Maria，had told me this， and how this house had been full of the laughter of little voices，and the noise of running feet.Charlotte and I sat like that for a long time， re-membering.

我什么也沒說。她的手正放在桌上，我輕輕地把手放到她的手上。這真是個(gè)好消息。我記得妻子瑪麗亞也曾告訴我這樣的好消息，當(dāng)時(shí)房子里是如何地充滿了那些稚嫩的歡笑和歡快跑動(dòng)的腳步聲。夏洛蒂和我就那么坐了好久，回憶著這一切。

It did not happen.At Christmas she fell ill， and in the New Year she was worse.She felt sick all the time because of the baby， and she ate nothing.She lay in bed all day，hot and coughing.Arthur Nicholls cared for her wonderfully——I think he often stayed awake all night.But it did not help.

可事情并未發(fā)生。圣誕節(jié)時(shí)她病了，到了元旦她病得更重了。由于胎兒的緣故，她一直在生病，什么也吃不下。她整天躺在床上，發(fā)著燒而且咳嗽。亞瑟·尼可斯很細(xì)心地照顧她——我想他經(jīng)常整宿地不睡，但這也無濟(jì)于事。

On 31st March 1855 the last of my six children died. It was early in the morning.Arthur Nicholls was sitting by her bed，and I was standing by the door.She was asleep with her hand in his.Her face was very thin and pale.

1855年3月31日，我6個(gè)孩子中的最后一個(gè)死了。那是個(gè)清晨，亞瑟·尼可斯坐在她的床邊，我站在門旁。她握著他的手睡著了。她的臉是那么消瘦、蒼白。

She opened her eyes and saw him.Then she coughed，and I saw fear in her face.

她睜開眼睛看著他，然后又是一陣咳嗽，在她臉上我看到了恐懼的神色。

'Oh God，'she whispered.I am not going to die， am I ?Please don't take me away from Arthur now-we have been so happy.'

“噢，上帝，”她嘆息道，“我不會(huì)死的，是嗎?請(qǐng)別現(xiàn)在就把我從亞瑟身邊帶走——我們是多么幸福啊!”

Those were the last words she ever said.A little while later，I walked slowly out of the house.As I went into the graveyard，the church bell began to ring.It was ringing to tell Haworth and all the world that Charlotte Bront was dead.

那是她最后的話。過了一小會(huì)兒，我慢慢地走出了屋子。當(dāng)我走向墓地時(shí)，教堂的鐘敲響了，那是在告訴霍沃斯和全世界，夏洛蒂·勃朗特去世了。