"A mere savage prejudice, " said I to myself. "I shall have to answer for all the crimes this brigand may commit in future. " Yet is that instinct of the conscience which resists every argument really a prejudice? It may be I could not have escaped from the delicate position in which I found myself without remorse of some kind. I was still tossed to and fro, in the greatest uncertainty as to the morality of my behavior, when I saw half a dozen horsemen ride up, with Antonio prudently lagging behind them. I went to meet them, and told them the brigand had fled over two hours previously. The old woman, when she was questioned by the sergeant, admitted that she knew Navarro, but said that living alone, as she did, she would never have dared to risk her life by informing against him. She added that when he came to her house, he habitually went away in the middle of the night. I, for my part, was made to ride to a place some leagues away, where I showed my passport, and signed a declaration before the Alcalde. This done, I was allowed to recommence my archaeological investigations. Antonio was sulky with me; suspecting it was I who had prevented his earning those two hundred ducats. Nevertheless, we parted good friends at Cordova, where I gave him as large a gratuity as the state of my finances would permit.
都只是乡野村夫的偏见罢了。我告诉自己,我将不得不为这个恶棍以后犯下的所有罪行负责。可是,良知本能地推翻每个推论,难道这真的是一种偏见吗?或许在当时那种尴尬的处境中,我无法毫无懊悔之意地脱身吧。当我还在反复思考自己的做法是否符合道德的时候,我看到有五六个长矛轻骑兵来了,安东尼奥小心翼翼地跟在后面。我迎上前去,告诉他们强盗两小时之前就逃走了。面对骑兵小队长的询问,老太婆承认认识纳瓦罗,但她孤苦伶仃,不敢冒险告发他。她又补充说,每次他来这里,总是习惯半夜走。而我本人,被要求到几里格外向镇长出示我的护照并签署一份陈述书。做完这些后,我获准重新开始我的考古调查。安东尼奥对我有些恼怒,怀疑是我阻碍了他拿到那二百金币。不管怎样,我们在科尔多瓦还是像好朋友那样地分了手。在那里,我尽我财力所能给了他一笔可观的报酬。
(1)The Andalusians aspirate the s, and pronounce it like the soft c and the z, which Spaniards pronounce like the English th. An Andalusian may always be recognized by the way in which he says senor.
(1)安达卢西亚人发 "s" 音时送气,同柔声 "c" 和 "z" 发音相像,而其他地区的西班牙人把这两个音发成英语的 "th" 。从一个人说 "senor" 的方式就能辨别出他是不是安达卢西亚人。
I spent several days at Cordova. I had been told of a certain manuscript in the library of the Dominican convent which was likely to furnish me with very interesting details about the ancient Munda. The good fathers gave me the most kindly welcome. I spent the daylight hours within their convent, and at night I walked about the town. At Cordova a great many idlers collect, toward sunset, in the quay that runs along the right bank of the Guadalquivir. Promenaders on the spot have to breathe the odor of a tan yard which still keeps up the ancient fame of the country in connection with the curing of leather. But to atone for this, they enjoy a sight which has a charm of its own. A few minutes before the Angelus bell rings, a great company of women gathers beside the river, just below the quay, which is rather a high one. Not a man would dare to join its ranks. The moment the Angelus rings, darkness is supposed to have fallen. As the last stroke sounds, all the women disrobe and step into the water. Then there is laughing and screaming and a wonderful clatter. The men on the upper quay watch the bathers, straining their eyes, and seeing very little. Yet the white uncertain outlines perceptible against the dark—blue waters of the stream stir the poetic mind, and the possessor of a little fancy finds it not difficult to imagine that Diana and her nymphs are bathing below, while he himself runs no risk of ending like Acteon.
我在科尔多瓦住了几天。有人告诉我,多明我会修道院的图书馆内有部手稿,上面可能有我非常感兴趣的、有关古蒙达的资料。好心的神父们热情地接待了我。我白天在修道院里度过,傍晚在镇上散步。在科尔多瓦,日落时分总有一大群闲散之人聚集在瓜达尔基维尔河右岸的码头上。此处的漫步者不得不忍受着制革工场散发出的气味。这个制革工场至今仍为当地保持着皮革加工的古老声誉。然而,这里的景观独具魅力、值得观赏,弥补了上述缺陷。祈祷钟敲响前几分钟,一大群女人聚集在河边,站在高高的码头下面。没有一个男人胆敢加入这个行列。祈祷钟响起来的时候,黑夜就应该到来了。最后一响落下,所有的女人都脱下衣服,走进水里。接着,水中一片嬉笑声、叫嚷声和动人的碰击声。码头上的男人们注视着沐浴的妇女,瞪大了眼睛,却看不到多少。然而,在深蓝色的河水中若隐若现的白色胴体撩拨着充满诗意的心灵,只要有一丁点想象力的人,就不难在眼前呈现出迪亚娜和仙女们在下面洗澡的画面,而作为偷窥者的自己却没有遭遇阿克托安下场的危险。
I have been told that one day a party of good—for—nothing fellows banded themselves together, and bribed the bell—ringer at the cathedral to ring the Angelus some twenty minutes before the proper hour. Though it was still broad daylight, the nymphs of the Guadalquivir never hesitated, and putting far more trust in the Angelus bell than in the sun, they proceeded to their bathing toilette—always of the simplest—with an easy conscience. I was not present on that occasion. In my day, the bell—ringer was incorruptible, the twilight was very dim, and nobody but a cat could have distinguished the difference between the oldest orange woman, and the prettiest shop—girl, in Cordova.
有人告诉我,有一天,一群小混混聚在一起,贿赂了大教堂的敲钟人,让他提前二十分钟敲钟。虽然天依然很亮,瓜达尔基维尔河的仙女们却宁可相信祈祷钟而不是太阳,毫不犹豫地换上了浴装——向来是最简单的那种——没有一丁点不好意思。当时我不在现场。我在这里的时候,敲钟人是不受贿赂的。在昏暗的暮色中,只有猫才能区分出哪个是卖橘子的老太婆,哪个是科尔多瓦最漂亮的女店员。
One evening, after it had grown quite dusk, I was leaning over the parapet of the quay, smoking, when a woman came up the steps leading from the river, and sat down near me. In her hair she wore a great bunch of jasmine—a flower which, at night, exhales a most intoxicating perfume. She was dressed simply, almost poorly, in black, as most work—girls are dressed in the evening. Women of the richer class only wear black in the daytime, at night they dress a la francesa. When she drew near me, the woman let the mantilla which had covered her head drop on her shoulders, and "by the dim light falling from the stars" I perceived her to be young, short in stature, well—proportioned, and with very large eyes. I threw my cigar away at once. She appreciated this mark of courtesy, essentially French, and hastened to inform me that she was very fond of the smell of tobacco, and that she even smoked herself, when she could get very mild papelitos. I fortunately happened to have some such in my case, and at once offered them to her. She condescended to take one, and lighted it at a burning string which a child brought us, receiving a copper for its pains. We mingled our smoke, and talked so long, the fair lady and I, that we ended by being almost alone on the quay. I thought I might venture, without impropriety, to suggest our going to eat an ice at the neveria. 1After a moment of modest demur, she agreed. But before finally accepting, she desired to know what o'clock it was. I struck my repeater, and this seemed to astound her greatly.
一天晚上,天已经很暗了。当我正靠着码头的栏杆吸烟时,一个女人从河梯走上来,坐在我的身边。她的头发上戴了一大簇茉莉——一种在夜晚散发出醉人芳香的鲜花。她穿得很简朴,几乎可以说是寒酸,像大多数女工一样,在晚上穿着一袭黑衣。富有阶层的妇女们只有在白天穿黑色衣服,而在晚上穿法式晚礼服。走近我之后,这位女郎让蒙头的纱巾滑落到肩上,借助繁星发出的微光,我看出她是个年轻女子,身材娇小而匀称,有着一双大眼睛。我立刻扔掉了手中的雪茄。她明白我的行为完全是出于法国式的礼貌,便连忙告诉我她很喜欢闻雪茄的烟味,而且在遇到非常温醇的上好雪茄时,她甚至还会来一支。幸好我的烟盒里有几支这样的好烟,便赶紧递给她。她赏脸拿了一支,我花了一个铜币,让一个小孩拿来一根引火绳把烟点着。我们吞云吐雾,谈了很长时间,以至最后码头上几乎只剩我和这位漂亮的女郎了。我想,邀请她去内维里亚吃冷饮,应该不算冒昧吧。她稍微推辞了几句,便接受了邀请。但在最后接受邀请前,她想知道已经几点了。我按了一下打簧表,而这似乎让她十分吃惊。
"What clever inventions you foreigners do have! What country do you belong to, sir? You're an Englishman, no doubt! " 2
你们外国人的发明真了不起!您是哪国人啊,先生?您一定是英国人!
"I 'm a Frenchman, and your devoted servant. And you, senora, or senorita, you probably belong to Cordova? "
我是法国人,也是您忠实的追随者。您呢太太,或小姐,您大概是科尔多瓦人吧?
"No. "
不是。
"At all events, you are an Andalusian? Your soft way of speaking makes me think so. "
至少,您是安达卢西亚人吧?您柔和的口音让我这样觉得。
"If you notice people's accent so closely, you must be able to guess what I am. "
如果您如此细致地注意人们的口音,您一定能猜到我是哪里人。
"I think you are from the country of Jesus, two paces out of Paradise. "
我想您来自与天堂只有两步之隔的耶稣国吧。
I had learned the metaphor, which stands for Andalusia, from my friend Francisco Sevilla, a well—known picador.
这个比喻指的正是安达卢西亚,是我从朋友——著名的骑马斗牛士弗朗西斯科•塞维利亚那里学来的。
"Pshaw! The people here say there is no place in Paradise for us! "
得了吧!这里的人说天堂里没有我们的位置!
"Then perhaps you are of Moorish blood—or—I stopped, not venturing to add" a Jewess. "
那么,您也许是摩尔人——或者——我停住了,没敢说出犹太人三个字。
"Oh come! " Oh come! You must see I 'm a gipsy! Wouldn't you like me to tell you la baji 3? Did you never hear tell of Carmencita? That's who I am!
哎呀说吧!哎呀说吧!您一定看出我是吉普赛人了!您难道不想让我给您算算 ‘巴希’ 吗?您难道从没听说过小卡门吗?就是我!
I was such a miscreant in those days—now fifteen years ago—that the close proximity of a sorceress did not make me recoil in horror. "So be it! " I thought. "Last week I ate my supper with a highway robber. To—day I'll go and eat ices with a servant of the devil. A traveler should see everything. " I had yet another motive for prosecuting her acquaintance. When I left college—I acknowledge it with shame—I had wasted a certain amount of time in studying occult science, and had even attempted, more than once, to exorcise the powers of darkness. Though I had been cured, long since, of my passion for such investigations, I still felt a certain attraction and curiosity with regard to all superstitions, and I was delighted to have this opportunity of discovering how far the magic art had developed among the gypsies.
这件事离现在已经15年了,那时我不信教,即使有一个女巫在身边也不会让我害怕退缩。是就是吧!我心里想,上周我与一个强盗一起共进晚餐。今天我将跟魔鬼的奴仆一起吃冰饮。旅行中的人就应该什么都见识见识。我想跟她相识还有另一动机。说来惭愧,走出大学后,我曾浪费了不少时间研究秘术,甚至不止一次地尝试要驱除鬼怪。虽然我早已不对那样的研究着迷了,却仍然对所有迷信的东西感到向往和好奇。而且,我很高兴有机会了解吉普赛人的巫术发展到什么程度了。
Talking as we went, we had reached the neveria, and seated ourselves at a little table, lighted by a taper protected by a glass globe. I then had time to take a leisurely view of my gitana, while several worthy individuals, who were eating their ices, stared open—mouthed at beholding me in such gay company.
说话间,我们走到了内维里亚。我们坐在一张小桌旁,桌上有一支罩在玻璃球里的蜡烛照明。这时我才有空好好端详一下我的吉普赛女郎,而此时几个正在吃冰饮的几个宾客,看到我有美人相伴都惊羡不已。
I very much doubt whether Senorita Carmen was a pure—blooded gipsy. At all events, she was infinitely prettier than any other woman of her race I have ever seen. For a woman to be beautiful, they say in Spain, she must fulfill thirty ifs, or, if it please you better, you must be able to define her appearance by ten adjectives, applicable to three portions of her person.
我很怀疑卡门小姐是不是纯正的吉普赛人。她美极了。我见过的其他吉普赛女人,无论如何都无法与她相比。西班牙人说,一个女人必须满足三十个条件才算得上漂亮,或者换种说法,你必须能够用十个形容词来描述她的外表,而每个词要适合她身体的三个部位。
For instance, three things about her must be black, her eyes, her eyelashes, and her eyebrows. Three must be dainty, her fingers, her lips, her hair, and so forth. For the rest of this inventory, see Brantome. My gipsy girl could lay no claim to so many perfections. Her skin, though perfectly smooth, was almost of a copper hue. Her eyes were set obliquely in her head, but they were magnificent and large. Her lips, a little full, but beautifully shaped, revealed a set of teeth as white as newly skinned almonds. Her hair—a trifle coarse, perhaps—was black, with blue lights on it like a raven's wing, long and glossy. Not to weary my readers with too prolix a description, I will merely add, that to every blemish she united some advantage, which was perhaps all the more evident by contrast. There was something strange and wild about her beauty. Her face astonished you, at first sight, but nobody could forget it. Her eyes, especially, had an expression of mingled sensuality and fierceness which I had never seen in any other human glance. "Gipsy's eye, wolf's eye! " is a Spanish saying which denotes close observation. If my readers have no time to go to the "Jardin des Plantes" to study the wolf's expression, they will do well to watch the ordinary cat when it is lying in wait for a sparrow.
比如说,她必须有三黑:眼睛、睫毛、眉毛。有三娇嫩:手指、嘴唇、头发等等。其他的条件,请参阅布兰托姆的作品。我眼前的吉普赛女郎称不上是十全十美。她的皮肤虽然极为光滑,颜色却近似黄铜。她的眼睛虽然有点斜,却又大又美。她的嘴唇稍微有点厚,但唇形却很美,露出一口洁白的牙齿,像刚剥皮的杏仁。她的头发或许有点粗,却长长的、乌黑发亮,像乌鸦的翅膀一样泛着蓝色的光泽。为了不让读者因为描述太过冗长而感到乏味,我只再加最后一句:她的每个缺点同时又兼备着某些优点,通过对比优点显得更为突出。她的美有些奇异和野性。她的脸乍一看让人吃惊,却又让人无法忘记。尤其是她的眼睛,有种既勾魂又凶悍的神情。我从未在其他人眼中看到过这种神情。吉普赛人的眼睛,狼的眼睛!这句西班牙谚语显示了对事物的细致观察。如果读者们没有时间到植物园去观察狼的眼睛,也可以等一只普通的猫趴在地上等着捕麻雀时,去观察猫的眼睛。
It will be understood that I should have looked ridiculous if I had proposed to have my fortune told in a cafe. I therefore begged the pretty witch's leave to go home with her. She made no difficulties about consenting, but she wanted to know what o'clock it was again, and requested me to make my repeater strike once more.
显然,我要是提出在咖啡馆让她给我算命,会显得十分可笑。因此,我请求这位美丽的女巫允许我送她回去。她毫无难色地答应了,但她还是想知道几点了,让我再按一下我的打簧表。
"Is it really gold? " she said, gazing at it with rapt attention.
它真的是金的吗?她问道,专注地盯着表看。
When we started off again, it was quite dark. Most of the shops were shut, and the streets were almost empty. We crossed the bridge over the Guadalquivir, and at the far end of the suburb we stopped in front of a house of anything but palatial appearance. The door was opened by a child, to whom the gipsy spoke a few words in a language unknown to me, which I afterward understood to be Romany, or chipe calli—the gipsy idiom. The child instantly disappeared, leaving us in sole possession of a tolerably spacious room, furnished with a small table, two stools, and a chest. I must not forget to mention a jar of water, a pile of oranges, and a bunch of onions.
当我们离开的时候,天已经很黑了。大多数商店都关门了,街上几乎空无一人。我们走过瓜达尔基维尔大桥,来到了城郊边上一所简陋的房子前停了下来。开门的是一个孩子。吉卜赛女郎用我听不懂的语言对他说了几句话。后来我才明白,这是吉普赛土语,叫罗姆语或希贝加里。这个孩子马上走开了,只留我们两个在这个相当宽敞的屋子里。屋里的家具只有一张小桌,两张凳子,和一个箱子。我不该忘记提到,屋里还有一罐水,一堆橘子和一堆洋葱。
As soon as we were left alone, the gipsy produced, out of her chest, a pack of cards, bearing signs of constant usage, a magnet, a dried chameleon, and a few other indispensable adjuncts of her art. Then she bade me cross my left hand with a silver coin, and the magic ceremonies duly began. It is unnecessary to chronicle her predictions, and as for the style of her performance, it proved her to be no mean sorceress.
屋里一剩下我们俩,吉普赛女郎就从她的箱子里拿出一副似乎用过多次的纸牌、一块磁石、一条干瘪的蜥蜴,和其他一些算命必备的物件。然后,她吩咐我用银币在左手上划一个十字,巫术仪式便正式开始了。关于她作出的种种预言就没有必要再叙述了,而至于她算命的手法,则已经证明她可不是一般的女巫。
Unluckily we were soon disturbed. The door was suddenly burst open, and a man, shrouded to the eyes in a brown cloak, entered the room, apostrophizing the gipsy in anything but gentle terms. What he said I could not catch, but the tone of his voice revealed the fact that he was in a very evil temper. The gipsy betrayed neither surprise nor anger at his advent, but she ran to meet him, and with a most striking volubility, she poured out several sentences in the mysterious language she had already used in my presence. The word payllo, frequently reiterated, was the only one I understood. I knew that the gypsies use it to describe all men not of their own race. Concluding myself to be the subject of this discourse, I was prepared for a somewhat delicate explanation. I had already laid my hand on the leg of one of the stools, and was studying within myself to discover the exact moment at which I had better throw it at his head, when, roughly pushing the gipsy to one side, the man advanced toward me. Then with a step backward he cried:
可惜的是,不久我们就被打断了。门猛地一下被推开,一个男人进来了。这人裹着棕色的斗篷,只露出两个眼睛,他用很粗鲁的语言把吉普赛女郎训斥了一番。他说的什么我听不懂,但从他说话的语气中可以听出他很生气。吉普赛女郎对他的到来既不感到吃惊,也不表示生气,而是跑过去迎接他,并且用在我面前用过的神秘语言对他叽里咕噜说了一通,其流利程度令人惊讶。我能听懂的只有她反复说的 "payllo" 一词。我知道吉普赛人用这个词来称呼外族人。由此我推断出自己就是谈话的主题,我有了心理准备,知道这样的话解释起来可就难了。我已经抓住了一只板凳腿,心里正盘算着要找准时机,最好能砸中那人脑袋。这时,那人粗暴地把吉普赛女郎推到一边,向我走来。然而,他后退了一步,喊道:
"What, sir! Is it you? "
啊,先生!是您吗?
I looked at him in my turn and recognized my friend Don Jose. At that moment I did feel rather sorry I had saved him from the gallows.
我也向他看去,认出他正是我的朋友唐何塞。在那一刻,我真的后悔从绞刑架上救了他。
"What, is it you, my good fellow? " I exclaimed, with as easy a smile as I could muster. "You have interrupted this young lady just when she was foretelling me most interesting things! "
啊,是您吗,我的老朋友?我喊道,尽可能挤出一个自然的笑脸。您打断了这位年轻女士,她刚才正在给我算命呢,可有趣了。
"The same as ever. There shall be an end to it! " he hissed between his teeth, with a savage glance at her.
又来这一套,总有一天要完蛋的!他咬牙切齿地说,狠狠地瞪了她一眼。
Meanwhile the gitana was still talking to him in her own tongue. She became more and more excited. Her eyes grew fierce and bloodshot, her features contracted, she stamped her foot. She seemed to me to be earnestly pressing him to do something he was unwilling to do. What this was I fancied I understood only too well, by the fashion in which she kept drawing her little hand backward and forward under her chin. I was inclined to think she wanted to have somebody's throat cut, and I had a fair suspicion the throat in question was my own. To all her torrent of eloquence Don Jose's only reply were two or three shortly spoken words. At this the gipsy cast a glance of the most utter scorn at him, then, seating herself Turkish—fashion in a corner of the room, she picked out an orange, tore off the skin, and began to eat it.
与此同时,吉普赛女郎还在用土语跟他说话。而且她越来越激动。她的眼睛充血、目光越来越凶狠、面部抽紧,不停地跺脚。在我看来,她似乎在极力地逼他做什么他不愿做的事。至于是什么事,我认为我已经很明白了,从她不住地用小手在脖子上抹来抹去就能看出来。我认为她想割断某个人的喉咙,而且我非常怀疑她指的正是我的喉咙。对于她的滔滔不绝,唐何塞只是简短地回应三言两语。后来,吉普赛女郎只好用极端鄙夷的眼神瞪了他一眼,径直去房间一角盘腿而坐,拣起一个橘子,剥了皮吃起来。
Don Jose took hold of my arm, opened the door, and led me into the street. We walked some two hundred paces in the deepest silence. Then he stretched out his hand.
唐何塞抓着我的胳膊,打开门,带我走到街上。我们沉默着走了大约有二百步。然后他松开了手。
"Go straight on, " he said, "and you'll come to the bridge. "
直着往前走,他说,您就会到桥上。
That instant he turned his back on me and departed at a great pace. I took my way back to my inn, rather crestfallen, and considerably out of temper. The worst of all was that, when I undressed, I discovered my watch was missing.
话音刚落,他转身快速离去。我非常沮丧地回到旅馆,心情相当不好。糟糕至极的是,脱衣服时,我发现表不翼而飞了。
Various considerations prevented me from going to claim it next day, or requesting the Corregidor to be good enough to have a search made for it. I finished my work on the Dominican manuscript, and went on to Seville. After several months spent wandering hither and thither in Andalusia, I wanted to get back to Madrid, and with that object I had to pass through Cordova. I had no intention of making any stay there, for I had taken a dislike to that fair city, and to the ladies who bathed in the Guadalquivir. Nevertheless, I had some visits to pay, and certain errands to do, which must detain me several days in the old capital of the Mussulman princes.
出于多种考虑,第二天我既没有去索回,也没有请求镇长发善心来派人去找。我完成对多明我会手稿的研究工作后,接着前往塞维利亚。在安达卢西亚四处奔走了几个月后,我想回马德里了,而这就要经过科尔多瓦。我无意在那里逗留,因为我已经对这座美丽的城市和在瓜达尔基维尔河沐浴的妇女们了产生了反感。尽管如此,我还得拜访几个朋友,办几件事情,而这使我不得不在这个穆斯林亲王们的古都逗留几天。
The moment I made my appearance in the Dominican convent, one of the monks, who had always shown the most lively interest in my inquiries as to the site of the battlefield of Munda, welcomed me with open arms, exclaiming:
我一出现在多明我会修道院,一位素来对我探寻蒙达古战场遗址很感兴趣的神父,便张开双臂欢迎我,高兴地喊道:
"Praised be God! You are welcome! My dear friend. We all thought you were dead, and I myself have said many a pater and ave (not that I regret them! )for your soul. Then you weren't murdered, after all? That you were robbed, we know! "
感谢天主!欢迎您!我亲爱的朋友。我们都以为您死了呢,我为您的灵魂念了多少次《天主经》和《圣母经》,当然我毫不后悔这么做!那么您并没有遭到谋杀? 您是被抢劫了,这个我们知道。
"What do you mean? " I asked, rather astonished.
您这么说是什么意思?我很吃惊地问道。
"Oh, you know! That splendid repeater you used to strike in the library whenever we said it was time for us to go into church. Well, it has been found, and you'll get it back. "
哦,您知道,就是过去在图书馆,我们一说到去教堂的时间了,您就会按一下的那绝妙的打簧表啊。对了,它已经被找到了,您可以把它领回去了。
"Why, " I broke in, rather put out of countenance, "I lost it—
是吗,我有点难为情地打断他说,我把它弄丢了——
"The rascal's under lock and key, and as he was known to be a man who would shoot any Christian for the sake of a peseta, we were most dreadfully afraid he had killed you. I'll go with you to the Corregidor, and he'll give you back your fine watch. And after that, you won't dare to say the law doesn't do its work properly in Spain. "
那个恶棍已经坐牢了,据说他是个为了一比塞塔都会向任何一个基督徒开枪的家伙,我们担心极了,害怕他已经把您杀害了。我会陪您一起去镇长那里,他会把您漂亮的表还给您的。到那时,您就不敢再说在西班牙司法机关没有起到应有的作用了。
"I assure you, " said I, "I'd far rather lose my watch than have to give evidence in court to hang a poor unlucky devil, and especially because—because—
我想让您明白,我说道,我宁愿不要我的表,也不会出庭作证去吊死一个倒霉的穷鬼,特别是因为——因为——
"Oh, you needn't be alarmed! He's thoroughly done for; they might hang him twice over. But when I say hang, I say wrong. Your thief is an Hidalgo. So he's to be garroted the day after to—morrow, without fail. So you see one theft more or less won't affect his position. 4Would to God he had done nothing but steal! But he has committed several murders, one more hideous than the other. "
啊!您不用这么惊慌!他一定会被吊死的,他们都能吊死他两次了。我说吊死还说错了呢。偷您的这个贼是个下级贵族。所以他后天要受绞刑,绝不赦免。所以您看,这种小案多一桩少一桩都不会影响对他的量刑。如果他只偷东西倒要感谢上帝了,但他供出的多桩谋杀案,一件比一件可怕。
"What's his name? "
他叫什么名字?
"In this country he is only known as Jose Navarro, but he has another Basque name, which neither your nor I will ever be able to pronounce. By the way, the man is worth seeing, and you, who like to study the peculiar features of each country, shouldn't lose this chance of noting how a rascal bids farewell to this world in Spain. He is in jail, and Father Martinez will take you to him. "
在这个国家,人们只知道他叫何塞•纳瓦罗,但他还有另外一个巴斯克名字,无论你我都不会念。顺便提一下,这个人值得一看,而且像您这样喜欢研究每个地方的不同特征的人不应错过这个机会,可以在西班牙见识一下一个恶棍怎样告别这个世界。他关在监狱里,马蒂内神父会带您去。
So bent was my Dominican friend on my seeing the preparations for this "neat little hanging job" that I was fain to agree. I went to see the prisoner, having provided myself with a bundle of cigars, which I hoped might induce him to forgive my intrusion.
我的多明我会朋友如此热衷于让我看看这项简便的小绞刑的准备工作,我只得同意了。我带了一包雪茄去监狱看他,希望这能让他原谅我的冒昧打扰。
I was ushered into Don Jose's presence just as he was sitting at table. He greeted me with a rather distant nod, and thanked me civilly for the present I had brought him. Having counted the cigars in the bundle I had placed in his hand, he took out a certain number and returned me the rest, remarking that he would not need any more of them.
我被领入唐何塞的牢房时,他正在吃饭。他冷淡地冲我点了下头算是打招呼,并且很礼貌地感谢我给他带来的礼物。数了数我放在他手上的一包烟,他拿出几支,把剩下的还给我,说再多了也用不着了。
I inquired whether by laying out a little money, or by applying to my friends, I might not be able to do something to soften his lot. He shrugged his shoulders, to begin with, smiling sadly. Soon, as by an after—thought, he asked me to have a mass said for the repose of his soul.
我问他是不是花点钱或者是求一下我的朋友,我或许能做些什么减轻他的刑罚。他先是耸了耸肩,苦笑了一下。不一会儿,他又改变了主意,请我让人做一场弥撒来拯救他的灵魂。
Then he added nervously: "Would you—would you have another said for a person who did you a wrong? "
他怯生生地加上一句:您能——您能为我这个害过你的人做场弥撒吗?
"Assuredly I will, my dear fellow, " I answered. "But no one in this country has wronged me so far as I know. "
当然可以,我亲爱的朋友。我回答道,但据我所知,在这个国家没有人得罪过我。
He took my hand and squeezed it, looking very grave. After a moment's silence, he spoke again.
他抓过我的手,紧紧地握着,表情非常严肃。沉默了一会儿后,他说道:
"Might I dare to ask another service of you? When you go back to your own country perhaps you will pass through Navarre. At all events you'll go by Vittoria, which isn't very far off. "
我还可以请您再帮我个忙吗?在您回国时,或许您会经过纳瓦拉。至少您会经过维特多利亚,离纳瓦拉不算远。
"Yes, " said I, "I shall certainly pass through Vittoria. But I may very possibly go round by Pampeluna, and for your sake, I believe I should be very glad to do it. "
是的,我说道,我一定会经过维特多利亚。但是我也很可能绕道走潘普洛纳,而且为了您,我愿意这么做。
"Well, if you do go to Pampeluna, you'll see more than one thing that will interest you. It's a fine town. I'll give you this medal, " he showed me a little silver medal that he wore hung around his neck. "You'll wrap it up in paper—he paused a moment to master his emotion—" and you'll take it, or send it, to an old lady whose address I'll give you. Tell her I am dead—but don't tell her how I died. "
太好了,如果您果真去潘普洛纳的话,您会看到很多令您感兴趣的事情。那是一个美丽的城镇。我把这枚圣章给您。他让我看他挂在脖子上的一枚小银牌。您用纸把它包好——他停顿了一下来控制自己的情绪——然后拿着它,把它交给或者寄给一位老妇人,我会给您她的地址。告诉她我死了——但别告诉她我是怎么死的。
I promised to perform his commission. I saw him the next day, and spent part of it in his company. From his lips I learned the sad incidents that follow.
我答应他一定会完成他托付的事。我第二天又去看他,同他消磨了半天功夫。从他口中,我得知了下面这个悲惨的故事。
(1)A cafe to which a depot of ice, or rather of snow, is attached. There is hardly a village in Spain without its neveria.
(1)内维里亚:一种附有冰库,更确切地说是雪库的咖啡馆。在西班牙几乎每个村都有。
(2)Every traveler in Spain who does not carry about samples of calicoes and silks is taken for an Englishman (inglesito). It is the same thing in the East.
(2)在西班牙,只要不带棉布或丝织品的旅客都会被当成英国人。在东欧国家也一样。
(3)Your fortune.
(3) ‘巴希’ :你的命运。
(4)In 1830, the noble class still enjoyed this privilege. Nowadays, under the constitutional regime, commoners have attained the same dignity.
(4)在1830年,贵族依然享有这种特权。现在,在宪法的统治下,普通人也取得了同样的尊严。