名著·汤姆叔叔的小屋 - 第33节


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  恩惠!"克鲁伊大婶说,"我没有看到什么恩惠,这件事情主人做得不对,事情不应该是这样做的。主人把事情弄得一塌糊涂,却要你去抵债。你为他所挣的钱比他在你身上花的钱不止多一倍啊。早在几年前,他就该给你自由了。也许他也是没有别的选择,但我觉得他做得不对。不管他说什么,我也不会心服口服。你对他一直都很忠诚,对待他的事情尤重于对待自己的事情,而且总会想方设法把事情做好。但他为了摆脱掉尴尬的处境,竟然将别人的亲人卖掉,使得别人妻离子散。应该由上帝来惩罚他们。"

   "Chloe! now, if ye love me, ye won't talk so, when perhaps jest the last time we'll ever have together! And I'll tell ye, Chloe, it goes agin me to hear one word agin Mas'r. Wan't he put in my arms a baby?--it's natur I should think a heap of him. And he couldn't be spected to think so much of poor Tom. Mas'rs is used to havin' all these yer things done for 'em, and nat'lly they don't think so much on 't. They can't be spected to, no way. Set him 'longside of other Mas'rs--who's had the treatment and livin' I've had? And he never would have let this yer come on me, if he could have seed it aforehand. I know he wouldn't.""

  克鲁伊,如果你还爱我,你就不要说这种话。这或许就是我们的最后一次相聚了。告诉你,克鲁伊,说主人的坏话,即使说一个字,我也不会答应你的。从他儿时起,我就把他抱在怀中,是我把他拉扯大的,自然的,我要多想一想他对我的好处,不敢奢望他多么看重可怜的汤姆。主人们已经习惯了被人伺候的生活,并由下人们把事情全都做好。所以他们自然不会觉得这有什么大不了的。我们不应该奢望他们的回报!把他和其他人的主人作一下比较,哪家的黑奴享受过我这样的待遇?谁过着我这样舒适的生活呢?如果他早些知道情况会变得这样难堪,他也不会赞同的。我知道他会这样做的。"

   "Wal, any way, thar's wrong about it _somewhar_," said Aunt Chloe, in whom a stubborn sense of justice was a predominant trait; "I can't jest make out whar 't is, but thar's wrong somewhar, I'm _clar_ o' that.""

  不管怎样说,这件事办得不妥当。"克鲁伊大婶说。对正义感的执着追求是她最大的优点,"我也说不明白这事错在什么地方,但我心里很清楚这件事办得不对。"

   "Yer ought ter look up to the Lord above--he's above all--thar don't a sparrow fall without him.""

  你应该尊重上帝,崇尚上帝,他虽远在天上,但他主宰着一切,即使一只麻雀掉在地上也是出自他的旨意。"

   "It don't seem to comfort me, but I spect it orter," said Aunt Chloe. "But dar's no use talkin'; I'll jes wet up de corn-cake, and get ye one good breakfast, 'cause nobody knows when you'll get another.""

  但这也不能给我安慰。我想这是命运,没有别的办法的,"克鲁伊大婶说,"这样说下去也没有什么实际作用,我给你烙几张玉米饼,让你再好好吃一次早餐吧,不知道到什么时候你才能吃到比较不错的早餐呢!"

  在理解那些被卖到南方的黑奴的痛苦时,千万要记住一点,这非常有必要,那就是他们内心的感情都很强烈,都很眷恋家庭和乡土。对于他们来说,胆大和勇于进取不是他们天生的特点,他们天生恋家而且充满柔情蜜意。同时他们还有恐惧感。这种恐惧感和愚昧无知相混合就会使陌生的地方笼罩上一层神秘的色彩。从儿时起,黑人就把被卖到南方视为一种最严厉的惩罚。被卖到河流的下游的威胁比其它形式的折磨和鞭打都要使人恐惧。他们显露的这种恐惧感是作者亲耳听到的,他们坐在一起长谈着,丝毫不掩饰那种恐惧感,他们所说的河流下游所发生的种种耸人听闻的故事,作者也曾亲眼目睹过。对于他们来说,南方就是一个任何人去了以后就再难返回的神秘的土地。

   A missionary figure among the fugitives in Canada told us that many of the fugitives confessed themselves to have escaped from comparatively kind masters, and that they were induced to brave the perils of escape, in almost every case, by the desperate horror with which they regarded being sold south,--a doom which was hanging either over themselves or their husbands, their wives or children. This nerves the African, naturally patient, timid and unenterprising, with heroic courage, and leads him to suffer hunger, cold, pain, the perils of the wilderness, and the more dread penalties of recapture.

  加拿大的逃亡者中有位传教士,他曾对我说,许多逃亡者都坦然承认,比较起来,他们的主人对他们还是不错的,他们冒着极大的风险逃亡,大都是出于对被卖往南方的极大的恐惧,这种担心一直盘旋在他们和他们的家人--丈夫、妻子和儿女的心头。非洲人天性能忍、胆子小、不思前进,但是他们一旦面临这样的危险,便会变得勇敢异常。他们会想尽办法逃亡,不惜忍饥挨饿,蒙受着巨大的痛苦,面对着田野中的多种危险以及被抓回去受到更加严厉的惩罚的苦难命运。

   The simple morning meal now smoked on the table, for Mrs. Shelby had excused Aunt Chloe's attendance at the great house that morning. The poor soul had expended all her little energies on this farewell feast,--had killed and dressed her choicest chicken, and prepared her corn-cake with scrupulous exactness, just to her husband's taste, and brought out certain mysterious jars on the mantel-piece, some preserves that were never produced except on extreme occasions.

  简单的早餐已经做好并放在桌子上,上面还冒着热气。希尔比太太已经通知克鲁伊大婶早晨不用去大宅侍奉了。这可怜的女人用尽了身体内的那点气力才做完这顿告别早餐。她宰了一只最肥厚的鸡并烹好了,还精心烙了合乎丈夫口味的玉米饼,又从炉架上拿下了几瓶果酱,那是在特殊情况下才会被拿出的。

   "Lor, Pete," said Mose, triumphantly, "han't we got a buster of a breakfast!" at the same time catching at a fragment of the chicken."

  哇,贝特,"莫思高兴地说,"今天的早餐真是太好吃了!"说着,他抓起了一块鸡肉。

   Aunt Chloe gave him a sudden box on the ear. "Thar now! crowing over the last breakfast yer poor daddy's gwine to have to home!"

  克鲁伊大婶猛然打了他一个耳光。"这是你可怜的爸爸在家中吃的最后一顿早饭了,你这样猴急干什么?"

  哎,克鲁伊!"汤姆温和地说。

   "Wal, I can't help it," said Aunt Chloe, hiding her face in her apron; "I 's so tossed about it, it makes me act ugly.""

  哎,我实在难以忍受了,"说着,克鲁伊大婶用围裙盖住了面庞,"我心里很乱,所以一下子就火了。"

   The boys stood quite still, looking first at their father and then at their mother, while the baby, climbing up her clothes, began an imperious, commanding cry.

  孩子们看了看爸爸,又看了看妈妈,站在那儿一动没动,那个年岁最小的孩子在妈妈的身上爬来爬去,使劲大哭起来。

   "Thar!" said Aunt Chloe, wiping her eyes and taking up the baby; "now I's done, I hope,--now do eat something. This yer's my nicest chicken. Thar, boys, ye shall have some, poor critturs! Yer mammy's been cross to yer.""

  哎,"克鲁伊大婶擦了擦眼睛,把孩子抱在自己的怀中安慰着,"好了,事情都过去了,都来吃吧,这是我喂养的最肥的鸡。来吧,我的孩子,可怜的小宝贝,快来吃吧。妈妈刚才的火气太大了。"

   The boys needed no second invitation, and went in with great zeal for the eatables; and it was well they did so, as otherwise there would have been very little performed to any purpose by the party.

  不用说什么话,孩子们便都马上高兴地吃起来,幸亏有他们的帮忙,否则这顿早餐要照原样子端下去,不会有人动一下的。

  现在,"克鲁伊大婶说,早饭后她一直忙碌着,"我要帮你收拾衣服了。那个家伙大概也会像那些人一样,把你的东西都拿走的,我知道他们一向都是这样做的。多么的卑鄙丑恶啊!这件法兰绒衣裤是你风湿病发作时穿的,就放在这个角上,你要爱惜着穿,今后没有人会帮你做了。这些是旧衬衣,这些是新买的衬衣。昨天晚上我帮你把破洞的袜子都补好了。上帝啊,以后会有谁帮你缝补呢!"克鲁伊大婶再次不能自己地靠在箱子边上抽泣起来,"想起来真是让人害怕,今后不管你有没有生病,也不会有人关心你了。一想到这些,我真是不想做任何事了。"

   The boys, having eaten everything there was on the breakfast-table, began now to take some thought of the case; and, seeing their mother crying, and their father looking very sad, began to whimper and put their hands to their eyes. Uncle Tom had the baby on his knee, and was letting her enjoy herself to the utmost extent, scratching his face and pulling his hair, and occasionally breaking out into clamorous explosions of delight, evidently arising out of her own internal reflections.

  吃完了桌上的饭菜后,孩子们也想到了家中的情况。见到爸爸悲苦的眼神,见到妈妈哭泣的样子,他们也跟着哭起来,不断地用小手擦拭着眼中的泪水。汤姆把年纪最小的孩子抱在膝头上,让她尽情地玩着,小孩子一会儿用手抓他的脸,一会儿又用手拽他的头发,时不时发出高兴的笑声,这显然都是孩子内心的真实感受。

   "Ay, crow away, poor crittur!" said Aunt Chloe; ye'll have to come to it, too! ye'll live to see yer husband sold, or mebbe be sold yerself; and these yer boys, they's to be sold, I s'pose, too, jest like as not, when dey gets good for somethin'; an't no use in niggers havin' nothin'!""

  高兴点吧,可怜的孩子!"克鲁伊大婶说,"将来你会碰到这样的一天,眼看着自己的丈夫被卖掉,也许你也会被卖掉的。这两个男孩,等到长大能做事时,多半也会被卖掉的。黑人们一无所有,没有什么前途的。"

   Here one of the boys called out, "Thar's Missis a-comin' in!"

  此时,一个男孩大声叫道:"太太来啦!"

   "She can't do no good; what's she coming for?" said Aunt Chloe."

  她帮不上什么忙,来这里干什么呢?"克鲁伊大婶说。

  希尔比太太走进屋里,克鲁伊大婶给她搬了一把椅子,脸上满是不满的神色,动作行为也很粗鲁。希尔比太太好像并没有注意到这些,她脸色苍白,显得非常焦急。

   "Tom," she said, "I come to--" and stopping suddenly, and regarding the silent group, she sat down in the chair, and, covering her face with her handkerchief, began to sob."

  汤姆,"她说,"我来这儿是--"说到这儿,她突然停下来,再也说不出话来了,看着这沉默的一家人,她以帕掩面,坐在椅子上哭泣起来。

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名著·汤姆叔叔的小屋 - 第33节