名著·汤姆叔叔的小屋 - 第5节


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  乔治被带回农庄后就去做最差的重活。他一直忍着不说什么冒犯主人的话,但他那闪闪发光的眼睛,忧郁的眉头都向人们表明他是不会心甘情愿去充当货物的。而这些不容置疑的无声语言却是难以用权势来压抑的。

   It was during the happy period of his employment in the factory that George had seen and married his wife. During that period,--being much trusted and favored by his employer,--he had free liberty to come and go at discretion. The marriage was highly approved of by Mrs. Shelby, who, with a little womanly complacency in match-making, felt pleased to unite her handsome favorite with one of her own class who seemed in every way suited to her; and so they were married in her mistress' great parlor, and her mistress herself adorned the bride's beautiful hair with orange-blossoms, and threw over it the bridal veil, which certainly could scarce have rested on a fairer head; and there was no lack of white gloves, and cake and wine,--of admiring guests to praise the bride's beauty, and her mistress' indulgence and liberality. For a year or two Eliza saw her husband frequently, and there was nothing to interrupt their happiness, except the loss of two infant children, to whom she was passionately attached, and whom she mourned with a grief so intense as to call for gentle remonstrance from her mistress, who sought, with maternal anxiety, to direct her naturally passionate feelings within the bounds of reason and religion.

  当乔治受雇于工厂时,他认识了艾莉查。正是在那一段开心的日子中,他们结婚了。在此期间,由于雇主的信任和重用,乔治可以自由安排自己的时问。而女主人也因为自己身边的美丽姑娘找到了和她般配的黑人小伙子而对这桩婚姻表示出赞许。像其他女人一样,她撮合了这门亲事,并十分得意于在婚姻中担当媒人的角色,因此乔治和艾莉查的婚礼也得以被允许在女主人的客厅中举行。在新娘的秀发上,女主人亲自为她插上了香橙花,并为她披上了婚纱,这样的打扮使得新娘更显娇艳。在大厅里,糕点美酒应有尽有,戴着清一色白手套的客人们一方面对新娘的美丽交口称赞,一方面也不时称赞着女主人的慷慨与对仆人的恩宠。结婚后的一两年,夫妻二人过着美满幸福的生活,还能经常见面。除了前两个孩子出世不久便死去以外,他们没遇到什么不开心的事。但两个孩子的死使得艾莉查非常伤心,以致于女主人不得不好言相劝,并勉励她以理性和宗教的教义来控制自己的情感。

   After the birth of little Harry, however, she had gradually become tranquillized and settled; and every bleeding tie and throbbing nerve, once more entwined with that little life, seemed to become sound and healthful, and Eliza was a happy woman up to the time that her husband was rudely torn from his kind employer, and brought under the iron sway of his legal owner.

  随着小哈里的出世,艾莉查把一门心思都倾注于这个小鬼的身上,心也渐趋平静,以往的伤痛也得以愈合。从此,她沉浸于幸福中,直到乔治被狠心的的主人从好心的雇主那儿野蛮地带回庄园,并被置于狠心主人的严密控制下为止。

   The manufacturer, true to his word, visited Mr. Harris a week or two after George had been taken away, when, as he hoped, the heat of the occasion had passed away, and tried every possible inducement to lead him to restore him to his former employment.

  工厂主在乔治离开工厂一两个星期后,估计哈里斯的火头已经过去了,于是便履行诺言去拜访了那位庄园主,想方设法劝他让乔治回到自己的工厂干活。

   "You needn't trouble yourself to talk any longer," said he, doggedly; "I know my own business, sir.""

  请不要再费什么心思了,"哈里斯固执地说,"我会处理这件事的。"

  我怎么会干预你的事情。我只是想提醒你考虑一下自身的利益,同意你的仆人回到我的工厂做工。"

   "O, I understand the matter well enough. I saw your winking and whispering, the day I took him out of the factory; but you don't come it over me that way. It's a free country, sir; the man's _mine_, and I do what I please with him,--that's it!""

  对这件事我非常清楚。那天我带他回庄园时,你们交头接耳,这可没有逃过我的眼睛。先生,乔治是我的仆人,在这个自由的国度,我让他干什么他就得干什么,事情就是这样的简单。"

   And so fell George's last hope;--nothing before him but a life of toil and drudgery, rendered more bitter by every little smarting vexation and indignity which tyrannical ingenuity could devise.

  希望的最后一抹光熄灭了,等待乔治的将是终身的劳作和枯燥单调的生活。而那狠心的主人所给予他的令他痛苦不堪的折磨和屈辱,他也只有默默地忍受。

   A very humane jurist once said, The worst use you can put a man to is to hang him. No; there is another use that a man can be put to that is WORSE!

  一位熟稔法律的智者曾说过这样的话,处置一个人的最残酷的方法莫过于对他施以绞刑。这句话不对,还有一种处置人的方法比这种惩罚更为残酷。

   Mrs. Shelby had gone on her visit, and Eliza stood in the verandah, rather dejectedly looking after the retreating carriage, when a hand was laid on her shoulder. She turned, and a bright smile lighted up her fine eyes.

  希尔比太太出门拜访朋友去了。望着渐渐远去的马车,艾莉查无精打采地站在门廊上。这时,有人从后面走来,把手搭在了她的肩膀上。她转回身,两眼顿时发出多彩的光辉,美丽的笑容浮现于脸上。

  真是你吗?乔治,你把我吓了一跳。我真是太高兴了!太太出门拜访朋友去了,晚上前不会回来。我们快到我那个小房间吧,我们可以有一段愉快的时光。"

   Saying this, she drew him into a neat little apartment opening on the verandah, where she generally sat at her sewing, within call of her mistress.

  她拉着乔治走进门廊对面那间小房间,平时,她总在那儿做针线活,这样她可以听见女主人的呼唤。

   "How glad I am!--why don't you smile?--and look at Harry--how he grows." The boy stood shyly regarding his father through his curls, holding close to the skirts of his mother's dress. "Isn't he beautiful?" said Eliza, lifting his long curls and kissing him."

  你能来我真高兴,快来看一看我们的孩子,乔治,你为什么不高兴呢?"孩子紧抓住母亲的长裙羞涩地站在那儿,从卷发下偷偷地看着父亲。"你看他多么漂亮,不是吗?"艾莉查拨弄着孩子头上的卷发,吻了他一下说。

   "I wish he'd never been born!" said George, bitterly. "I wish I'd never been born myself!""

  我只希望自己没有出世,也没有生下这个孩子。"乔治惨然说道。

   Surprised and frightened, Eliza sat down, leaned her head on her husband's shoulder, and burst into tears.

  听完这句话,艾莉查既惊讶又恐惧。她哭着把头靠在丈夫宽阔的肩膀上。

  艾莉查,你真是太可怜了,我真不敢让你再伤心。"乔治爱怜地说,"如果当时你没有认识我,那你就不会这样不幸了。"

   "George! George! how can you talk so? What dreadful thing has happened, or is going to happen? I'm sure we've been very happy, till lately.""

  哟,乔治,你这是说什么话呢?是不是发生了什么可怕的事,还是要有什么可怕的事要发生?从我们相识到现在,我们不是活得挺幸福吗?"

   "So we have, dear," said George. Then drawing his child on his knee, he gazed intently on his glorious dark eyes, and passed his hands through his long curls."

  亲爱的,确实很幸福。"乔治把自己的孩子抱到膝上,看着孩子那明亮的双眸,抚弄着他那柔软的卷发。

   "Just like you, Eliza; and you are the handsomest woman I ever saw, and the best one I ever wish to see; but, oh, I wish I'd never seen you, nor you me!""

  艾莉查,你是我所见的女人中最漂亮的,也是最好的,你看,我们的孩子长得多么像你。但是当时我们如果没有见面就好了。"

   "O, George, how can you!""

  乔治,你为什么还要这样说呢?"

  事实是这样的,我们除了痛苦以外,还拥有什么呢!我这辈子是那样的苦,就像黄连一样。我的生气已经被煎熬殆尽。现在我干的是苦命的活,我是那样穷,不会有什么前途的。你跟着我不会有什么好报,我只会带给你霉运。我们一直在努力做事,学东西,想做个有用的人,但这有什么用呢?这样活着有什么意思,真不如死了算了。"

   "O, now, dear George, that is really wicked! I know how you feel about losing your place in the factory, and you have a hard master; but pray be patient, and perhaps something--""

  乔治,你这样说真是罪过,我知道你不能在工厂工作,所以心里难受,你又遇到一个狠心的主人,但你还是要忍耐,说不定以后会有什么……"

   "Patient!" said he, interrupting her; "haven't I been patient? Did I say a word when he came and took me away, for no earthly reason, from the place where everybody was kind to me? I'd paid him truly every cent of my earnings,--and they all say I worked well.""

  忍耐,难道我还不够忍耐吗?"他打断她说道,"自从他无缘无故把我从那个待我好的人的工厂带回以后,我说过什么吗?说实话,我把自己挣的钱全都上交给他了。那个工厂的人,哪一个不夸我的活做得好呢!"

   "Well, it _is_ dreadful," said Eliza; "but, after all, he is your master, you know.""

  真是太可怕了,但他终究是你的主人啊。"艾莉查说。

   "My master! and who made him my master? That's what I think of--what right has he to me? I'm a man as much as he is. I'm a better man than he is. I know more about business than he does; I am a better manager than he is; I can read better than he can; I can write a better hand,--and I've learned it all myself, and no thanks to him,--I've learned it in spite of him; and now what right has he to make a dray-horse of me?--to take me from things I can do, and do better than he can, and put me to work that any horse can do? He tries to do it; he says he'll bring me down and humble me, and he puts me to just the hardest, meanest and dirtiest work, on purpose!""

  谁赋予他这种权力让他做我的主人?我不时地考虑着这个问题。他是人,我也是人,他凭什么要骑在我的头上,况且他还不如我。无论是经商还是管理庄园,我都比他行,我比他认识的字多,书写也比他漂亮,而所有这些我都不欠他什么,因为我是自学的。尽管他对我是那样的残忍,但我还是学会了这些本领。他存心不把人当人看待,他凭什么让我为他做牛做马?他凭什么不让我充分发挥我所学到的本领,为什么他不能容忍我干得比他好呢?他故意把最脏、最重、最下等的活派给我去做,因为他想借此凌辱我,他说他要让我屈服。"

  啊,我以前从没听你说过这样的话,乔治,你吓着我了,我知道你很愤懣,这我理解,但为了我和哈里,你千万不要做可怕的事情。不管你做什么事,一定要三思而后行啊!"

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名著·汤姆叔叔的小屋 - 第5节