Illnesses like the one to which Armand had succumbed have at least this much to be said for them: they either kill you at once or let themselves be conquered very quickly.

像阿尔芒得的这种病有以下特点：它们要么一下子就要人的命，要么就会很快痊愈。

A fortnight after the events which I have just recounted, Armand was convalescing very satisfactorily, and we were bound by a firm friendship. I had scarcely left his sick room throughout the whole time of his illness.

在我刚才叙述的事情过去两个星期后，阿尔芒的身体已经恢复得非常令人满意了，而且我们之间培养出了稳定的友谊。在他患病的这段时间里，我几乎没有离开过他的房间。

Spring had dispensed its flowers, leaves, birds, and harmonies in abundance, and my friend's window cheerfully overlooked his garden which wafted its healthy draughts up to him.

春天让万物充满了活力，百花盛开，草长莺飞，我的朋友阿尔芒房间里的窗户快乐地打开着，窗户朝着他的花园，花园里吹来一阵阵健康清新的气息。

The doctor had allowed him to get up, and we often sat talking by the open window at that hour of the day when the sun is at its warmest, between noon and two o'clock.

医生已经允许他起床了，从正午到下午两点，这段阳光最温暖的时候，我们经常坐在打开的窗子旁边聊天。

I studiously avoided speaking to him of Marguerite, for I was still afraid that the name would reawaken some sad memory which slumbered beneath the sick man's apparent calm. But Armand, on the contrary, seemed to take pleasure in speaking of her—not as he had done previously, with tears in his eyes, but with a gentle smile which allayed my fears for his state of mind.

我一直刻意避免和他谈论玛格丽特，因为我害怕提到这个名字就会重新唤醒掩藏在这个病人平静外表下的伤心回忆。但是阿尔芒却恰好相反，他看起来很能从谈论玛格丽特中得到乐趣，不再像以前那样一提到玛格丽特便眼含热泪，而是带着温柔的微笑，这种微笑缓和了我对他精神状态的担心。

I had noticed that, since his last visit to the cemetery and the spectacle which had been responsible for causing his serious breakdown, the measure of his mental anguish seemed to have been taken by his physical illness, and Marguerite's death had ceased to present itself through the eyes of the past. A kind of solace had come with the certainty he had acquired and, to drive off the somber image which often thrust itself into his mind, he plunged into the happier memories of his affair with Marguerite and appeared willing to recall no others.

我注意到，自从他上次去公墓，并在那里看到了那个使他彻底崩溃的场面之后，他精神上的痛苦仿佛已经被肉体上的疾病替代了，对于玛格丽特的死，他的想法也和过去不一样了。随着他对玛格丽特之死的确信，他反而得到了一种心灵上的安慰，为了驱走经常出现在他眼前的阴暗形象，他陷入了和玛格丽特在一起时幸福开心的回忆之中，而且似乎也只愿意回想这些事情。

His body was too exhausted by his attack of fever, and even by its treatment, to allow his mind to acknowledge any violent emotions, and despite himself the universal joy of spring by which Armand was surrounded directed his thoughts to happier images.

他的身体因为高烧的折磨，甚至因为治疗，而极度虚弱，以致于不能让他受到强烈情感的刺激；春天大自然欣欣向荣的景象围绕着阿尔芒，使他情不自禁地回忆起过去的那些快乐景象。

All this time, he had stubbornly refused to inform his family of the peril he was in, and when the danger was past, his father still knew nothing of his illness.

一直以来，他都固执地拒绝将自己的危险告诉家人，直到危险过去以后，他的父亲仍然对儿子的病情一无所知。

One evening, we had remained longer by the window than usual. The weather had been superb and the sun was setting in a brilliant twilight of blue and gold. Although we were in Paris, the greenery around us seemed to cut us off from the world, and only the rare sound of a passing carriage from time to time disturbed our conversation.

一天傍晚，我们在窗边坐了比平常更长的时间。那天天气好极了，太阳在闪耀着蔚蓝和金黄色的薄暮中落山了。虽然我们身在巴黎，但是围绕着我们的草木似乎将我们与喧闹的世界隔离开了，只有偶尔传来的马车经过的声音会打扰我们的谈话。

'It was about this time of year, and during the evening of a day like today, that I first met Marguerite,' said Armand, heeding his own thoughts rather than what I was saying.

“差不多就在这个季节，也是差不多像今天一样的一个傍晚，我第一次遇见了玛格丽特。”阿尔芒对我说，他沉浸于自己的回忆，没有注意到我在说什么。

I made no reply.

我什么也没有回答。

Then he turned to me and said:

然后他转向我，对我说：

But I must tell you the story; you shall turn it into a book which no one will believe, though it may be interesting to write.'

“我一定要把这个故事讲给您听，您可以把它写成一本没有人会相信的书，但是写这本书一定是很有趣的。”

'You shall tell it to me some other time, my friend,' I told him, 'you are still not well enough.'

“您可以另外找个时间再讲给我听，我的朋友，”我对他说，“您的身体还没有完全康复呢。”

The evening is warm, I have eaten my breast of chicken,' he said with a smile; 'I am not the least feverish, we have nothing else to do, I shall tell you everything.'

“今天晚上很暖和，我也吃完了鸡胸肉，”他微笑着对我说，“我连低烧都不发了，反正我们也没有别的事情要做，我就把这个故事完完整整地讲给您听吧。”

'Since you are so set on it, I'll listen.'

“既然您一定要讲，那么我就听着吧。”

'It's a very simple tale,' he then added, 'and I shall tell it in the order in which it happened. If at some stage you do make something of it, you are perfectly free to tell it another way.'

“这是一个非常简单的故事，”于是他接着说，“我会按照事情发生的时间顺序讲述它。如果您以后在某种情况下要用这个故事写点儿什么东西，您可以随便换种方式叙述它。”

Here is what he told me, and I have scarcely changed a word of his moving story.

下面的内容就是他告诉我的故事，这个故事非常感人，我几乎没有做任何改动。

Yes (Armand went on, letting his head fall against the back of his armchair), yes, it was on an evening like this! I had spent the day in the country with one of my friends, Gaston R. We had returned to Paris in the evening and, for want of anything better to do, had gone to the Th tre des Vari t s.

是的，（阿尔芒把头靠在椅背上，接着说）是的，就是这样的一个傍晚！我跟我的一个朋友R·加斯东在乡下玩了一天。我们在傍晚时分回到了巴黎，因为没有什么更好的事可做，我们就去了杂耍剧院看戏。

During one of the intervals, we left our seats and, in the corridor, we saw a tall woman whom my friend greeted with a bow.

在一次幕间休息的时候，我们离开了座位，在走廊里我们看见了一个身材高挑的女人，我的朋友向她弯腰致意。

'Who was that you just bowed to?' I asked him.

“您刚才在和谁打招呼？”我问他。

'Marguerite Gautier,' he replied.

“玛格丽特·戈蒂埃。”他回答道。

'It strikes me she is very much changed, for I didn't recognize her,' I said with a tremor which you will understand in a moment.

“吓了我一跳，她变了好多，我都认不出来她了。”我激动地说，至于我为什么激动，等会儿您就明白了。

'She's been ill. The poor girl's not long for this world.'

“她生病了。看来这个可怜的姑娘活不长了。”

I recall these words as though they had been said to me yesterday.

我现在还能回想起这些话，就像我昨天才听到的一样。

Now, my friend, I must tell you that for two years past, whenever I met her, the sight of that girl had always made a strange impression on me.

现在，我的朋友，我一定要告诉您，两年以来，每当我遇见这个姑娘，看到她总会让我产生一种说不出的奇妙感觉。

Without knowing why, I paled and my heart beat violently. I have a friend who dabbles in the occult, and he would call what I felt an affinity of fluids; I myself believe quite simply that I was destined to fall in love with Marguerite, and that this was a presentiment.

不知道为什么，我的脸会发白，我的心脏会不停地狂跳。我有一个朋友是研究神秘学的，他把我这种感觉称为“流体的亲和力”，但是我自己却很简单地相信我命中注定要爱上玛格丽特，这是一种预感。

The fact remains that she made a strong impression on me. Several of my friends had seen how I reacted, and they had hooted with laughter when they realized from what quarter that impression came.

事实是她给我留下了深刻的印象。我的几个朋友看见过我对此是怎么反应的，当他们知道我这种印象是从谁那儿来的时候，就大叫着嘲笑我。

The first time I had seen her was in the Place de la Bourse, outside Susse's. An open barouche was standing there, and a woman in white had stepped out of it. A murmur of admiration had greeted her as she entered the shop. For my part, I stood rooted to the spot from the time she went in until the moment she came out. Through the windows, I watched her in the shop as she chose what she had come to buy. I could have gone in, but I did not dare. I had no idea what sort of woman she was and was afraid that she would guess my reason for entering the shop and be offended. However I did not believe that I was destined ever to see her again.

我第一次见到玛格丽特是在交易所广场上的叙斯商店门口。一辆敞篷四轮马车停在那儿，然后一个穿着白色衣服的女人从上面走下来。她走进商店的时候引起了一阵充满赞叹和羡慕的低语声。而我却像扎了根一样一动不动地站在那里，从她进去一直到她走出来。透过橱窗，我看着她在里面挑选要买的东西。我本来可以进去，但是又不敢。我不知道这个女人是什么人，我害怕她会猜出我走进商店的原因，并觉得受到冒犯。然而那时候，我不相信我注定会再次见到她。

She was elegantly dressed; she wore a muslin dress with full panels, a square Indian shawl embroidered at the corners with gold thread and silk flowers, a Leghorn straw hat and a single bracelet, one of those thick gold chains which were then just beginning to be fashionable.

她穿得非常典雅：穿着一条镶满花边的薄纱长裙；披着一条正方形开司米披肩，四个角都绣着金色镶边和丝做的花；戴着一顶意大利草帽，还戴着一条手链，是那种刚刚开始流行的粗金链子。

She got into her barouche and drove off.

她登上敞篷马车就走了。

One of the shop-assistants remained in the doorway with his eyes following the carriage of his elegant customer. I went up to him and asked him to tell me the woman's name.

店里的一个售货员一直站在门口，目送着那位高贵顾客的马车离开。我走向他，请他告诉我那个女人的名字。

'That's Mademoiselle Marguerite Gautier,' he replied.

“她是玛格丽特·戈蒂埃小姐。”他回答我说。

I did not dare ask him for her address and I walked away.

我没敢问他那位小姐的地址就走开了。

The memory of this vision—for, truly, vision it was—did not fade from my mind like many other visions I had already seen, and I searched everywhere for this woman in white so regal in her beauty.

对这个幻觉的回忆——确实，那就像是幻象——并没有像其他我见过的幻象一样消失，于是我到处找寻这位身穿白衣的雍容华贵的美人。

A few days after this, there was a big production at the Op ra-Comique. I went along. The first person I saw, in a stage-box in the balcony, was Marguerite Gautier.

几天之后，在喜剧歌剧院有场盛大的演出。我去了。我在剧场楼厅包厢里看见的第一个人就是玛格丽特·戈蒂埃。

The young man I was with recognized her too, for he said, mentioning her by name:

和我一同前来的年轻人也认出了她，因为他叫着她的名字对我说：

'Take a look at that pretty creature.'

“看看那个漂亮的姑娘！”

Just then, Marguerite turned her opera glasses in our direction, saw my friend, smiled at him and gestured that he was to come and pay his respects.

正在这时，玛格丽特把她的望远镜转向了我们的方向，她看见了我的朋友，对他微微一笑，并示意让他过去问好。

'I'll go along and wish her a pleasant evening,' he told me, 'I'll be back in a moment.'

“我要过去祝她有个愉快的夜晚，”他对我说，“一会儿就回来。”

I could not help myself saying. You're a lucky man!'

我情不自禁地对他说：“您真是个幸运的人！”

'In what way?'

“在哪一方面呢？”

'Going to see that woman.'

“能去拜访那个女人。”

'Are you in love with her?'

“您是不是爱上她了？”

'No,' I said, reddening, for I really did not know how I stood in the matter, 'but I would like to get to know her.'

“不是的，”我涨红了脸说，因为这一下我真有点儿不知所措了，“但是我很想认识她。”

'Come with me, I'll introduce you.'

“跟我来吧，我来向她介绍你。”

'Ask her permission first.'

“先去征得她同意吧。”

'Oh, nonsense! There's no need to be formal with her. Come on.'

“哦，说什么呢！跟她交往是不用太正式的。来吧。”

These words of his were hurtful to me. I trembled at the thought that I should learn for certain that Marguerite was not worthy of my feelings for her.

他的这些话让我很受伤。一想到我将明确地知道玛格丽特不值得我对她这么动情，我便不寒而栗。

In a book by Alphonse Karr, entitled Am Rauchen, there is a man who, one evening, follows a very elegant woman with whom he has fallen in love at first sight, so beautiful is she. Merely to kiss the hand of this woman, he feels he has strength enough for any undertaking, the will to conquer all and the courage to do anything. He scarcely dares glance at the slim ankles which she reveals in her efforts to avoid dirtying her dress as it drags on the ground. As he is dreaming of the things he would do to possess her, she stops him at a street corner and asks if he would like to come upstairs with her.

在阿方斯·卡尔的一本名叫《烟雾》的小说里，一天晚上，有一个男人跟随着一位非常优雅高贵的女士，他对她一见钟情，因为她是如此的美丽。仅仅为了可以亲吻这个女人的手，他就感觉自己有了战胜一切的力量，有了征服一切的意志力，还有了做任何事情的勇气。这个女人为了避免弄脏拖在地上的裙子而露出了纤细的脚踝，可他根本不敢看一眼。正当他梦想着他能做什么来得到这个女人的时候，她却在一个街角拦住了他，并且问他是否愿意和她一起上楼去。

He turns his head away, crosses the street and returns home sadly.

他转过了头，穿过大街，垂头丧气地回家去了。

I now remembered this study and I, who would gladly have suffered for her, was afraid that this woman might accept me too quickly and give me too promptly a love which I should have desired to earn through some long delay or great sacrifice. Of such stuff are we men made; and it is fortunate indeed that the imagination indulges the senses with fancies of this kind, and that the desires of the body make such concessions to the dreams of the soul.

我现在记起了这段描写，我本来很乐意为了这个女人受苦，但是现在却害怕她会过快地接受我，给我过于匆忙草率的爱，而我希望得到的是经过长时间的等待或者巨大的牺牲才获得的那种爱情。我们男人生来就是这种脾气，如果能用我们头脑中这类幻想来放纵我们的感官，对肉体的欲望让步于对灵魂的向往，那的确是无比幸运的事。

So, had someone said to me: 'You shall have this woman tonight and tomorrow you shall be put to death', I would have accepted. Had I been told: 'Give her ten louis and she's yours,' I should have refused and wept like a child who sees the castle which he had glimpsed during the night vanish as he wakes.

所以，如果有人对我说：“今天晚上您可以得到这个女人，但是明天您就会被人杀死。”我会接受的。但是如果有人告诉我：“给她十个路易，她就是您的了。”我就会拒绝，并哭泣，就像一个孩子发现夜里梦见的城堡在他醒来时消失一样。

However, I wanted to meet her; it was one way, indeed the only way, of knowing how I stood with her.

可是，我还是想见到她；这是知道我如何看待她的一个方法，而且还是唯一的方法。

So I told my friend that I insisted that she should give her permission for him to introduce me, and I loitered in the corridors, reflecting that any moment now she would see me and that I should not know what sort of expression to assume when she looked at me.

于是，我告诉我的朋友一定要得到玛格丽特的同意之后才能把我介绍给她，我在走廊里踱来踱去，脑子里想着她随时都可能会看到我，而我还不知道在她看我的时候该给她留下什么样的印象。

I tried to string together in advance the words I would speak to her.

我尝试着把我要对她说的话先考虑好。

What sublime nonsense love is!

爱情是多么荒谬而可怕啊！

A moment later, my friend came down again.

过了一小会儿，我的朋友又从上面下来了。

'She's expecting us,' he said.

“她正在等着我们。”他对我说。

'Is she alone?' I asked.

“她是自己一个人吗？”我问他。

'She's with another woman.'

“她和另一个女伴在一起。”

'There aren't any men?'

“那儿一个男人也没有吗？”

'No.'

“没有。”

'Let's go.'

“我们走吧。”

My friend made for the theatre exit.

我的朋友向剧场的出口走去。

'Hold on, it's not that way,' I said to him.

“等等，不是这条路啊,”我对他说。

'We're going to buy some sweets. She asked for some.'

“我们要去买些蜜饯。玛格丽特让我们买一些。”

We went into a confectioner's in the galleries of the Passage de l'Op ra.

我们走进了剧场过道上的一个糖果铺。

I would have gladly bought the whole shop, and was casting round for what could be made into a selection, when my friend said:

我真巴不得把整个铺子里的东西都买下来，我正在扫视四周看有什么可以选择的时候，我的朋友说：

'A pound of sugared raisins.'

“一磅糖渍葡萄。”

'Are you sure she likes them?'

“您确定她喜欢这个吗？”

'She never eats any other kind of sweets, it's a wellknown fact.'

“她从来不吃别的蜜饯，这是大家都知道的事实。”

When we were outside, he went on:'Now then. Have you any idea what sort of woman I am about to introduce you to? Don't imagine you'll be meeting a duchess, she's just a kept woman—none more kept, my dear fellow. Don't be shy, just say whatever comes into your head.'

当我们走出商店的时候他接着说：“那么，您知道我要介绍给您的是哪一种女人吗？不要以为您会遇见一位公爵夫人，她只是一个妓女，仅此而已，我亲爱的朋友。所以您不必害羞，想到什么就说什么。”

Er, of course,' I stammered, and followed him, telling myself that I was about to be cured of my passion.

“嗯，当然了。”我结结巴巴地说着，跟在我的朋友后面，心里却在想我的热情即将被浇灭了。

When I stepped into her box, Marguerite was laughing uproariously.

当我走进玛格丽特的包厢时，她正在里面放声大笑。

I would have preferred her to be sad.

我倒情愿看到她很悲伤的样子。

My friend introduced me. Marguerite inclined her head slightly and said:

朋友向她介绍了我。玛格丽特对我微微地点了点头，然后就问：

'Where are my sweets?'

“我的蜜饯在哪里？”

'Here you are.'

“给您。”

As she took them, she looked straight at me. I lowered my eyes and blushed.

在她拿蜜饯的时候，她直直地望着我。我垂下眼睛，脸红了起来。

She leaned across, whispered something into her companion's ear, and both of them burst out laughing.

她俯下身子，轻轻地在她女伴耳边说了几句话，她们俩便放声大笑起来。

It was only too obvious that I was the cause of their mirth: my embarrassment deepened as a result. At the time, I had as a mistress a little middle-class girl, very loving, very cloying, who made me laugh with her sentimentality and sad billets-doux. I realized how much I must have hurt her by the hurt I now felt and, for the space of five minutes, I loved her as never woman was loved.

很明显我就是她们发笑的原因，于是我更尴尬了。那个时候我也有一个情妇，一个中产阶级的女孩，多情又甜美，她那多愁善感的性格和伤感的情书总让我发笑。我终于认识到我以前一定伤害她很深，因为现在我也感受到了这种伤害，有足足的五分钟，我以一种从未有过的方式爱上了她。

Marguerite ate her raisins without paying any further attention to me.

玛格丽特吃着她的糖渍葡萄就不再注意我了。

Having introduced me, my friend had no intention of leaving me in this ridiculous position.

因为是他介绍了我跟玛格丽特认识，我的朋友不愿意让我陷入这种尴尬可笑的境地。

Marguerite,' he said, 'you shouldn't be surprised if Monsieur Duval does not speak to you. You have such an effect on him that he cannot think of a thing to say .'

“玛格丽特，”他对她说，“如果迪瓦尔先生没有跟您讲话，您也不必感到奇怪。您如此迷人，以至于他连要说什么都不知道了。”

'I rather believe that this gentleman came here with you because you found it tiresome to come alone.'

“我倒宁愿相信这位先生跟您一起来是因为您觉得自己一个人来很无聊。”

'Were that true,' I said in turn, 'I would not have asked Ernest to obtain your leave to introduce me.'

“如果真是这样的话，”轮到我开口说话了，“那么我就不会请欧内斯特来要求您同意把我介绍给您了。”

'Perhaps it was just a way of putting off the fatal moment.'

“这可能只是一种拖延这个倒霉时刻的办法。”

Anyone who has spent any time at all in the company of girls of Marguerite's sort is quite aware of what pleasure they take in making misplaced remarks and teasing men they meet for the first time. It is no doubt a way of levelling the scores for the humiliations which they are often forced to undergo at the hands of the men they see every day.

任何人要是曾经跟玛格丽特那样的姑娘有过一点儿往来，就会非常了解她们喜欢做出不合时宜的评语，还喜欢取笑她们第一次遇到的男人们。她们不得不忍受那些每天见面的人的侮辱，跟初次见面的人恶作剧无疑是对那些侮辱的一种报复。

So, if you wish to give as good as you get, you need to have a certain familiarity with their world, and this I did not have. Moreover, the idea that I had formed of Marguerite made her jesting seem worse to me. Nothing about this woman left me indifferent. And so, getting to my feet, I said to her with a faltering in my voice which I found impossible to conceal completely: 'If that is what you think of me, Madame, all that remains for me is to ask you to forgive my indiscretion and to take my leave, assuring you that it will not happen again.'

因此，如果您要给出相应的回应，就需要对她们的世界有所熟悉，而这恰恰是我没有的。再说，我以前形成的对玛格丽特的看法让她的玩笑看起来更糟糕了。对这个女人的任何方面，我都不能无动于衷。所以，我站了起来，带着一种难于掩饰的颤抖的声调对她说：“如果您是这样想我的话，夫人，那么我只能请您原谅我的冒失，允许我向您告辞，并向您保证这样的事以后不会再发生了。”

Thereupon, I bowed and left.

于是，我鞠了一躬就离开了。

I had scarcely closed the door when I heard a third burst of laughter. I would dearly have wished for someone to try to elbow me out of his way at that moment.

我刚一关上包厢的门，就听到了第三次哄笑声。那个时候我真希望有人来把我一肘撞开。

I returned to my seat in the stalls.

我回到了我在正厅前排的座位上。

The three knocks were sounded for the curtain to rise.

三声开幕锤敲响，大幕拉开了。

Ernest rejoined me.

欧内斯特回到了我的身边。

'What a way to behave!' he said to me as he took his seat. They think you're mad.'

“您是怎么搞的！”他一面坐下来一面对我说。“她们觉得您是疯了。”

'What did Marguerite say after I left?'

“我离开之后玛格丽特说了什么？”

She laughed, and declared she'd never seen anybody funnier than you. But you mustn't think you're beaten. Just don't do women like that the honour of taking them seriously. They have no idea what good taste and manners are; it's just the same with pet dogs that have perfume poured over them—they can't stand the smell, and go off and roll in some gutter.'

“她笑了，说她从来没有遇到过像您这么好笑的人。但是您绝对不要以为您失败了。别对那种女人太认真。她们完全不知道什么是好品味和礼貌，这就像身上喷了香水的宠物狗一样——它们不能忍受这个味道，还要跑到水沟里去打滚洗掉。”

'Anyway, what's it to me?' I said, trying to sound offhand. I shan't ever see that woman again, and even if I liked her before I got to know her, everything is very different now that I have met her.'

“不过，这和我有什么关系？”我尽量装得漫不经心地说。“我再也不会见那个女人了，就算我在认识她以前对她有好感，但是既然我已经见过她了，情况就不一样了。”

'Bah! I wouldn't be at all surprised one of these days to see you sitting in the back of her box and hear people saying how you're ruining yourself on her account. Still, you may be right, she has no manners, but she'd make an attractive mistress all the same.'

“算了吧！要是有一天我看见您坐在她包厢里面，听到人们议论您是如何为了她倾家荡产的，我是一点儿也不会觉得意外的。也许您是对的，她没有教养，但她还是能成为一个迷人的情妇。”

Fortunately, the curtain went up and my friend said no more. It would be quite impossible for me to tell you what play was performed. All I remember was that, from time to time, I would glance up at the box I had left so abruptly, and that the shapes of new callers kept appearing in quick succession.

幸好幕拉开了，我的朋友没有再说什么。要我告诉您那天演了哪出戏是不可能的。我所记得的就是我不时地抬起头来望着刚才匆匆离开的包厢，以及那里川流不息的新的来访者。

However, I was far from having put Marguerite out of my mind. Another thought now took possession of me. I felt that I had both her insulting behaviour and my discomfiture to expunge; I told myself that, even if I had to spend everything I had, I would have that woman and would take by right the place which I had vacated so quickly.

但是，我怎么也没法把玛格丽特从我的脑海里抹去。现在，另外一种想法占据了我。我感觉自己应该把她冒犯的行为和自己的狼狈尴尬都忘记；我告诉自己，就算是付出我的所有，我也要得到那个女人，名正言顺地坐回我刚才过快放弃的位置上。

Some time before the final curtain, Marguerite and her companion left their box.

谢幕之前，玛格丽特和她的女伴就离开了包厢。

Despite myself, I rose from my seat.

我身不由己地从我的座位上站了起来。

'You're not leaving?' said Ernest.

“您不会是要走吧？”埃内斯特问我。

'Yes.'

“是的。”

'Why?'

“为什么？”

Just then, he noticed that the box was empty.

就在那时，他注意到那个包厢空了。

'Go on, then,' he said, 'and good luck, or rather, better luck!'

“那就走吧，”他对我说，“祝你好运，或者说运气更好点儿！”

I left.

我离开了剧场。

On the stairs, I heard the rustle of dresses and the sound of voices. I stepped to one side and, without being observed, saw the two women walk by me together with the two young men who were escorting them.

在楼梯上，我听到了衣服发出的沙沙声和说话的声音。我闪到一边不让人看到，只见两个女人由两个青年护送着一起走过我旁边。

In the colonnade outside the theatre, a young servant came up to the two women.

在剧场外的圆柱走廊里有一个仆人走到那两个女人面前。

Go and tell the coachman to wait outside the Caf Anglais,' said Marguerite, 'we shall go as far as there on foot.'

“去告诉车夫到英国咖啡馆门口等着，”玛格丽特说，“我们要走到那儿去。”

A few minutes later, as I loitered on the boulevard, I saw Marguerite at the window of one of the restaurant's large rooms: leaning on the balcony, she was pulling the petals one by one off the camellias in her bouquet.

几分钟以后，正当我在林阴大道上来回踱步的时候，我看见了玛格丽特站在那间咖啡馆的一个大房间的窗户边上，她正倚靠在露台上，一瓣一瓣地摘下她那束茶花的花瓣。

One of the two men was leaning over her shoulder and was whispering to her.

两个青年中有一个俯在她肩上跟她窃窃私语。

I found a seat in the Maison d'Or, in one of the private rooms on the first floor, and did not take my eyes off the window in question.

我在金屋咖啡馆找了个二楼的包间坐下来，眼睛一直没有离开窗口，疑虑地盯着那边。

At one in the morning, Marguerite got into her carriage with her three friends.

凌晨一点钟的时候，玛格丽特和她的三个朋友一起坐上了她的马车。

I took a cab and followed.

我也乘坐一辆轻便马车跟着她。

The carriage stopped outside 9 rue d'Antin.

她的马车停在了安坦街九号的门外。

Marguerite got out and went up to her apartment alone.

玛格丽特走出车厢，一个人上楼回家了。

No doubt this happened by chance, but this chance made me very happy.

毫无疑问这种情况很偶然，但是这个偶然使我觉得非常开心。

From that day on, I often encountered Marguerite at the theatre or on the Champs- lys es. She was unchangingly gay and I was unfailingly quickened by the same emotions.

自从那天以后，我经常在剧院或者香榭丽舍大街上遇到玛格丽特。她一直是那样快活，而我的心跳也始终因为同样的情绪而加快。

But then a fortnight passed without my seeing her anywhere. I ran into Gaston and asked him about her.

但是后来两个星期过去了，我在哪儿都没有再遇到过她。我碰到了加斯顿，就向他打听她的消息。

'The poor girl is very ill,' he replied.

“那个可怜的姑娘病得很重。”他回答我说。

'What's the matter with her?'

“她生的什么病？”

The matter with her is that she's got consumption and, because she lives the sort of life which is not calculated to make her better, she's in bed and dying.'

“她得的病是肺结核，而且因为她过的那种生活是不会让身体状况好转的，所以她现在正躺在床上快死了呢。”

The heart is a strange thing; I was almost glad she was ill.

人心真是不可捉摸；她病了，我却近乎感到高兴。

Every day, I called to have the latest news of the patient, though without signing the book or leaving my card. It was in this way that I learned of her convalescence and her departure for Bagn res.

我每天去询问她的病况，不过我既不让人家记下我的名字，也没有留下我的名片。就是通过这种方法，我知道了她正逐渐恢复，后来又去了巴涅尔的消息。

Then time went by, and the impression she had made on me, if not the memory, seemed to fade gradually from my mind. I travelled; new intimacies, old habits and work took the place of thoughts of her, and whenever I did think back to that first encounter, I preferred to see the whole thing as one of those passions which one experiences in youth, and laughs at in no time at all.

随着时光的流逝，如果不能说是我逐渐地忘了她，那就是她给我的印象慢慢地变淡了。我外出旅游；新的密友、以前的生活习惯和日常工作取代了我对她的思念，每次我回想起第一次与她相遇，都情愿把整件事看做年轻时的一时冲动，并立刻对此报以一笑。

Besides, there would have been no merit in vanquishing her memory, for I had lost sight of Marguerite since the time of her departure and, as I have explained to you, when she passed close to me in the passageway of the Th tre des Vari t s, I did not recognize her.

再说，我能够忘记以前关于她的回忆也没有什么了不起的，因为自从玛格丽特离开巴黎之后我就再也没见到过她了，就像我之前跟您讲过的一样，当她在杂耍剧院的走廊里与我擦身而过时，我已经认不出她了。

She was wearing a veil, it is true; but two years earlier, however many veils she had been wearing, I would not have needed to see her to recognize her: I would have known her instinctively.

那时她固然戴着面纱，但是换了在两年之前，不论她带着多少面纱，我根本不用看就能认出她，我只用凭直觉就可以知道是她了。

This did not prevent my heart from racing when I realized that it was her. The two years spent without seeing her, together with the effects which this separation seemed to have brought about, were sent up in the same smoke by a single touch of her dress.

尽管如此，当我知道她就是玛格丽特的时候，我的心还是止不住地怦怦乱跳。与她两年不见了，加上这段时间的分离带来的想念，让我的感情在看到她的衣衫的刹那间便又重新燃烧起来了。 HNkTlAFwtIleVskM4EQQHKW0GPR5qC4WUTc8tCNheOsvmSYQuRh4Unze0hR8Y0hA