名著·汤姆叔叔的小屋 - 第128节


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  噢!上帝,如果您仁慈的话,求您看一看我吧!让我在邪恶中获取胜利!求您救救我吧!让世界上任何的痛苦磨难都折服不了我!"汤姆忍受身上的痛楚虔诚地祈祷。

   A footstep entered the room, behind him, and the light of a lantern flashed on his eyes.

  背后传来了一阵脚步声,他感觉到有人进入了屋子,光亮从灯笼中散射出来照在他的脸上。

   "Who's there? O, for the Lord's massy, please give me some water!""

  谁呀?求你看在上帝的份上,给我口水喝吧!噢,我快渴死了!"

   The woman Cassy--for it was she,--set down her lantern, and, pouring water from a bottle, raised his head, and gave him drink. Another and another cup were drained, with feverish eagerness.

  探望汤姆的人是卡西。她连忙放下手中的灯,从瓶子里倒水出来,扶着汤姆的头喂他喝。汤姆早就渴死了,他急不可待地一杯接一杯地喝着。

   "Drink all ye want," she said; "I knew how it would be. It isn't the first time I've been out in the night, carrying water to such as you.""

  想怎么喝就怎么喝吧!"她安慰道,"我明白这种难受的滋味。像今天晚上出来送水给你这类人喝,已经很多次了。"

  太太,我太感激你了。"汤姆说道--喝足水以后。

   "Don't call me Missis! I'm a miserable slave, like yourself,--a lower one than you can ever be!" said she, bitterly; "but now," said she, going to the door, and dragging in a small pallaise, over which she had spread linen cloths wet with cold water, "try, my poor fellow, to roll yourself on to this.""

  你不需要称呼我太太!我与你没有什么两样,都是令人怜悯的奴隶,可能我低贱的地位还比不上你。"她满怀感触地说。起身走到门边,拉着一床铺有浸过冷水的亚麻布的席子进来了。"过来吧,不幸的兄弟,移到这床草席上来吧!"

   Stiff with wounds and bruises, Tom was a long time in accomplishing this movement; but, when done, he felt a sensible relief from the cooling application to his wounds.

  遍体鳞伤的汤姆费了好大的劲,才把僵硬的身体移到席子上,一接触清凉的亚麻布,汤姆感觉到比以前舒服多了,伤口也不那么疼痛了。

   The woman, whom long practice with the victims of brutality had made familiar with many healing arts, went on to make many applications to Tom's wounds, by means of which he was soon somewhat relieved.

  这个女人曾经护理过好多被打伤的病人,因此她明白如何减轻痛苦的方法。接着她又替汤姆试了其它几种,现在汤姆感觉到舒服多了。

   "Now," said the woman, when she had raised his head on a roll of damaged cotton, which served for a pillow, "there's the best I can do for you.""

  哦,"叫卡西的女人一边忙着把汤姆的头放到一个用烂棉絮充的枕头上一边说:"我能为你做的就这些了。"

  汤姆连忙向她道了谢。那女人坐在他身边的一块地板上,用手环抱膝盖一声不吭地凝视前方,带着一种属于酸涩和怜悯的表情。她头上的帽沿倾向一边,露出一头黑色曲卷似波浪般的长发,极不规矩地散落在她美丽而忧伤的脸蛋两旁。

   "It's no use, my poor fellow!" she broke out, at last, "it's of no use, this you've been trying to do. You were a brave fellow,--you had the right on your side; but it's all in vain, and out of the question, for you to struggle. You are in the devil's hands;--he is the strongest, and you must give up!""

  我不幸的兄弟,你不知道你这样做有多傻吗?"她最终忍不住喊了出来,"根本毫无半点用处!我承认,你的确勇敢,你做得也有理。但对他那种人,做这些根本起不了作用,纯粹是劳力伤神。你要清楚自已被魔鬼捏在手里,他是世界上最不讲理的恶棍!他蛮横得不容任何人不向他屈服。"

   Give up! and, had not human weakness and physical agony whispered that, before? Tom started; for the bitter woman, with her wild eyes and melancholy voice, seemed to him an embodiment of the temptation with which he had been wrestling."

  向他屈服!"汤姆惊慌地瞪大了眼睛,在他经受肉皮之苦、倍受煎熬的时候,难道他没有这么想过吗?这个女人似乎是他眼里唯一诱惑他的化身,他在心里不停地苦苦挣扎。

   "O Lord! O Lord!" he groaned, "how can I give up?""

  噢!上帝,我的主啊!"他呻吟着,"我不能屈服!"

   "There's no use calling on the Lord,--he never hears," said the woman, steadily; "there isn't any God, I believe; or, if there is, he's taken sides against us. All goes against us, heaven and earth. Everything is pushing us into hell. Why shouldn't we go?""

  求助上帝根本没有什么用,他不会听到你的呼叫,"那女人万般肯定地说,"我不相信世界上有真正的上帝,假设有的话,他也不肯帮助我们这些可怜人,他肯定站在我们的敌人那边。不论白天和黑夜,所有的一切事情似乎都与我们过不去,这跟下地狱又有什么区别呢?既然这样我们为什么不下地狱?"

  听她这么说,汤姆不禁闭上了眼睛浑身颤抖,他害怕听到这些诅咒上帝,谩骂神灵的话。

   "You see," said the woman, "_you_ don't know anything about it--I do. I've been on this place five years, body and soul, under this man's foot; and I hate him as I do the devil! Here you are, on a lone plantation, ten miles from any other, in the swamps; not a white person here, who could testify, if you were burned alive,--if you were scalded, cut into inch-pieces, set up for the dogs to tear, or hung up and whipped to death. There's no law here, of God or man, that can do you, or any one of us, the least good; and, this man! there's no earthly thing that he's too good to do. I could make any one's hair rise, and their teeth chatter, if I should only tell what I've seen and been knowing to, here,--and it's no use resisting! Did I _want_ to live with him? Wasn't I a woman delicately bred; and he,--God in heaven! what was he, and is he? And yet, I've lived with him, these five years, and cursed every moment of my life,--night and day! And now, he's got a new one,--a young thing, only fifteen, and she brought up, she says, piously. Her good mistress taught her to read the Bible; and she's brought her Bible here--to hell with her!"--and the woman laughed a wild and doleful laugh, that rung, with a strange, supernatural sound, through the old ruined shed."

  你不明白,"那女人接着又说道,"对这里的事,你可能还不太了解,我就是明白得太彻底了。自从来到这个鬼地方呆了五年,不管是我的灵魂还是我的肉体几乎每天都在遭受着无穷尽的践踏和折磨,我憎恨他就像憎恨魔鬼那样深恶痛绝!生活在这孤岛般的鬼庄园里,几乎与人世隔绝,方圆几十英里围着的全是沼泽地。在这儿根本找不出一个白人,就算你被他活活烧死,被烫死了,还是被剁成肉酱亦或把你捆起来让猎狗撕成碎片,都没有人来管你,也没有人能替你作证。在这里上帝的准则和人类制订的法律根本是滑稽之谈,对我们派不上任何用场。我们没有任何自由和保障!你再仔细看看这个人!世界上什么坏事他都干得出来。如果我把这个鬼庄园里亲眼看见的事通通捅出来,恐怕没有一个人不被吓得浑身颤抖、毛骨悚然。反抗如果能够有用的话,难道我还会继续跟他睡在一块吗?我也曾受过很好的教育,也知道廉耻和尊严。但他,天啦!你知道他以前算个什么屁东西?现在又是个什么玩意儿的暴君吗?!五年了,整整五年,我还是没有逃出他的魔掌,还是迫不得已和他住在一块。每天每夜,我没有一分钟不在痛骂我自己,诅咒自己为什么还要活在世上?你不是不知道,他现在又弄了个女人来,那女人很年轻,据说才十五岁。听她自己说她是很虔诚的。她曾有个教她读《圣经》的女主人。天啦!她竟然把《圣经》也带到了这个鬼庄园来了,真是天大的笑话。"那女人狂放而伤感地笑出了眼泪,这种奇怪的笑声久久回荡在这间破屋子里。

   Tom folded his hands; all was darkness and horror."O Jesus! Lord Jesus! have you quite forgot us poor critturs?" burst forth, at last;-- "help, Lord, I perish!"

  周围是无穷尽的恐怖黑暗,汤姆双手交叉地放在胸口,终于叫了出来,"噢!仁慈的上帝!尊敬的上帝啊!您是不会忘掉我们这些可怜人的,您睁开眼睛看看吧!上帝,我快没命了!"

   The woman sternly continued:"And what are these miserable low dogs you work with, that you should suffer on their account? Every one of them would turn against you, the first time they got a chance. They are all of 'em as low and cruel to each other as they can be; there's no use in your suffering to keep from hurting them."

  那女人沉着脸继续说:"所有和你一起做苦工的那帮可怜人又算什么屁东西呢?!他们根本不值得你去为他们受罪,一旦给予他们机会,他们就会反目成仇联手欺压你。他们对待曾同他们一起共患难的兄弟的态度不会比凶残再好到哪里去,你休想用仁慈来感化他们,换取他们的和平,你所有的做法无疑只是徒劳,根本毫无用处。"

   "Poor critturs!" said Tom,-- "what made 'em cruel?--and, if I give out, I shall get used to 't, and grow, little by little, just like 'em! No, no, Missis! I've lost everything,--wife, and children, and home, and a kind Mas'r,--and he would have set me free, if he'd only lived a week longer; I've lost everything in _this_ world, and it's clean gone, forever,--and now I _can't_ lose Heaven, too; no, I can't get to be wicked, besides all!""

  所有受灾害可怜的人类啊!"汤姆叹惜道,"究竟是什么促使善良的他们变得凶狠、恶毒起来的呢?如果有一天我会疲倦的话,说不定我也会慢慢适应他们的暴敛行为,到最后跟他们也没什么两样!不!不!决不!太太!我现在一无所有了,我已经失去了心爱的妻子、可爱的儿女、美好的家庭和我仁慈的主人,假如她们还在的话,就算活一星期,我也会重获幸福。现在没有一样属于我的东西了,我将永远都不会再重获她们。我已经失去了幸福的天堂,我再也不能失去可贵的灵魂,跟别人一样变成一个可恶人。"

  但是上帝也不能因此而怪罪我们呀!"女人说,"他毫无理由怪罪我们,落到今天这种地步,我们完全是被邪恶逼出来的。就算他要找人治罪的话,也只能找引导我们走向罪恶的主人。"

   "Yes," said Tom; "but that won't keep us from growing wicked. If I get to be as hard-hearted as that ar' Sambo, and as wicked, it won't make much odds to me how I come so; it's the bein' so,--that ar's what I'm a dreadin'.""

  你说得很对,"汤姆说,"即使这样可也帮不了我们呀!我们不能作恶!一旦我某天跟桑博一样使坏,一样狠毒地对待无辜的苦难人们,追究是什么使我变成这样子已经不太重要,对我本身来说,我真正担心的是我变质的本性呀!"

   The woman fixed a wild and startled look on Tom, as if a new thought had struck her; and then, heavily groaning, said,"O God a' mercy! you speak the truth! O--O--O!"--and, with groans, she fell on the floor, like one crushed and writhing under the extremity of mental anguish.

  那女人吃惊地瞪着汤姆,仿佛她没想到会得到这样的回答。她深深地叹了一口气说:"一点不错。噢!上帝呀!为什么?唉!唉!唉!"她一连几声哀叹,一下子跌坐在地,仿佛矛盾的心理和悲痛的现实让她心力憔悴,再也支撑不了她。

   There was a silence, a while, in which the breathing of both parties could be heard, when Tom faintly said, "O, please, Missis!"

  空气一下子变得紧张起来,彼此都能听到对方的呼吸。又过了一会儿汤姆微弱地低呼:"太太,我请求您帮我个忙。"

   The woman suddenly rose up, with her face composed to its usual stern, melancholy expression.

  那女人迅速地站直了身体,她的神情马上又变得坚定起来,和平时没有两一样。

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名著·汤姆叔叔的小屋 - 第128节