名著·汤姆叔叔的小屋 - 第96节


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  哦,爸爸,我不累。"伊娃回答道,可是她急促而沉重的呼吸立刻让她父亲警觉起来。

   "How could you ride so fast, dear?--you know it's bad for you.""

  亲爱的,你怎么能骑得这么快呢?这对身体有害啊!"

   "I felt so well, papa, and liked it so much, I forgot.""

  没事儿,爸爸。我觉得身体好极了,而且骑马让我快活,什么都忘了。"

   St. Clare carried her in his arms into the parlor, and laid her on the sofa.

  圣克莱尔把她抱入门厅,放在沙发上。

   "Henrique, you must be careful of Eva," said he; "you mustn't ride fast with her.""

  恩瑞克,你得好好看着她,千万别把马骑得太快。"

  我会好好照顾她的。"恩瑞克坐到沙发边,握住伊娃的小手。

   Eva soon found herself much better. Her father and uncle resumed their game, and the children were left together.

  过了会儿,伊娃缓过劲来了,圣克莱尔兄弟俩才离开去下棋,屋子里只剩下两个孩子。

   "Do you know, Eva, I'm sorry papa is only going to stay two days here, and then I shan't see you again for ever so long! If I stay with you, I'd try to be good, and not be cross to Dodo, and so on. I don't mean to treat Dodo ill; but, you know, I've got such a quick temper. I'm not really bad to him, though. I give him a picayune, now and then; and you see he dresses well. I think, on the whole, Dodo 's pretty well off.""

  伊娃,我爸爸只打算在这儿呆两天,你知道吗,这让我很难过,因为不知道要多久才能再见到你。如果我能和你在一起,我肯定会好好的,不打多多,不惹你生气。我不是故意打他的,只是因为我脾气太急躁了。其实,我对多多并不坏,我老是给他五分钱。你看,他穿得也不差,我想他过得还是蛮不错的。"

   "Would you think you were well off, if there were not one creature in the world near you to love you?""

  如果你身边没有一个人爱你,你会感到很富有吗?"

   "I?--Well, of course not.""

  我?当然不会啰!"

  你把多多买下来,他远离亲人,现在身边又没有一个人爱他;你还说对他好,这叫哪门子的好呢?"

   "Well, I can't help it, as I know of. I can't get his mother and I can't love him myself, nor anybody else, as I know of.""

  可是,我也没办法呀!我又不能把他妈妈也买过来,我自己又不能爱他。我看,别的人也不会爱他吧!"

   "Why can't you?" said Eva."

  为什么不能爱他?"伊娃问道。

   "_Love_ Dodo! Why, Eva, you wouldn't have me! I may _like_ him well enough; but you don't _love_ your servants.""

  爱多多?!伊娃,你也不会让我这么干的,我可以很喜欢他,但是,人们是不会爱他们的仆人的。"

   "I do, indeed.""

  我就爱他们。"

  这真不可思议。"

   "Don't the Bible say we must love everybody?""

  《圣经》上不是说了吗,我们必须爱每一个人。"

   "O, the Bible! To be sure, it says a great many such things; but, then, nobody ever thinks of doing them,--you know, Eva, nobody does.""

  噢,《圣经》上的说法可是不计其数,但是人们不可能每条都照着做,从没有人这样干过。"

   Eva did not speak; her eyes were fixed and thoughtful for a few moments.

  伊娃不再吱声,只是沉思了片刻。

   "At any rate," she said, "dear Cousin, do love poor Dodo, and be kind to him, for my sake!""

  不管怎么说,"她说,"亲爱的哥哥,请你看在我的份上去爱多多,对他好一点吧!"

  亲爱的妹妹,要是为了你的话,我什么都会去爱的,因为你是我见过的最可爱的小天使!"恩瑞克热切地表白着,英俊的脸庞激动得通红。伊娃天真地听着,脸上的表情并未变化,她只是说道:"我非常高兴,恩瑞克,希望你能记住对我的承诺。"

   The dinner-bell put an end to the interview.

  开饭铃响了,兄妹俩停止了交谈。

   CHAPTER XXIV

  第二十四章 

   Foreshadowings

  不祥之兆

   Two days after this, Alfred St. Clare and Augustine parted; and Eva, who had been stimulated, by the society of her young cousin, to exertions beyond her strength, began to fail rapidly. St. Clare was at last willing to call in medical advice,--a thing from which he had always shrunk, because it was the admission of an unwelcome truth.

  两天后,圣克莱尔兄弟依依话别,就此分开了。伊娃的身体状况一溃千里。这两天,有小堂兄做陪,她玩得实在是太累了,根本没法支撑。最后,圣克莱尔不得不找医生来诊治,以前他总是逃避着,怕这样做就等于宣布一个他不肯接受的事实。

  开始一两天,伊娃非常难受,卧床不起,圣克莱尔赶紧找来了医生。

   Marie St. Clare had taken no notice of the child's gradually decaying health and strength, because she was completely absorbed in studying out two or three new forms of disease to which she believed she herself was a victim. It was the first principle of Marie's belief that nobody ever was or could be so great a sufferer as _herself_; and, therefore, she always repelled quite indignantly any suggestion that any one around her could be sick. She was always sure, in such a case, that it was nothing but laziness, or want of energy; and that, if they had had the suffering _she_ had, they would soon know the difference.

  玛丽·圣克莱尔却从未注意到自己女儿的身体已日渐衰弱。她疑心自己一定是得了某种新的疾病,因此一门心思扑在研究两三种新病的症候上。她的第一信条是,没有人像她那样饱尝病痛的煎熬了。每当有人告诉她周围的某个人得了疾病,她总是生气地顶回去,在她看来,那个人不是真生了病,只是懒病发了,或只是浑身无力而已,如果让他们来尝受一下她的痛苦,那他们就马上会发觉这两者之间有天壤之别了。

   Miss Ophelia had several times tried to awaken her maternal fears about Eva; but to no avail.

  奥菲利亚小姐曾几次试图唤起玛丽的母爱,但都毫无用处。

   "I don't see as anything ails the child," she would say; "she runs about, and plays."

  玛丽总是说:"我看不出这孩子有什么不对劲,她满屋子跑,玩得很起劲呀!"

   "But she has a cough.""

  可是她总是咳嗽呀。"

  咳嗽!你可别跟我提咳嗽,我可是从小咳到大,一直没断过。小时候家里人还以为我得了肺结核呢,妈咪没日没夜地守着我。喏,伊娃这点咳嗽只是小意思。"

   "But she gets weak, and is short-breathed.""

  可她现在身子骨越来越弱,呼吸也越发短促了。"

   "Law! I've had that, years and years; it's only a nervous affection.""

  老天,我没哪年不是这样的。她只是有点神经衰弱而已。"

   "But she sweats so, nights!""

  可是她夜里老出冷汗!"

   "Well, I have, these ten years. Very often, night after night, my clothes will be wringing wet. There won't be a dry thread in my night-clothes and the sheets will be so that Mammy has to hang them up to dry! Eva doesn't sweat anything like that!""

  哦,我这十来年也是这样的,经常连着几晚出汗不止,衣服湿得都拧得出水来,睡袍也是湿得连一根干纱都没有,喏,被子还老让妈咪拿出去晒才行。伊娃出汗没我厉害吧!"

  奥菲利亚从此缄口不提这事。但现在伊娃已经大病不起了,医生也请来了,玛丽又换了副腔调。

   "She knew it," she said; "she always felt it, that she was destined to be the most miserable of mothers. Here she was, with her wretched health, and her only darling child going down to the grave before her eyes;"--and Marie routed up Mammy nights, and rumpussed and scolded, with more energy than ever, all day, on the strength of this new misery.

  她说,她早就感觉到自己命中注定是个苦命的母亲,自己多病多灾还不算,现在就连唯一的宝贝女儿也眼见着一步步挨向坟墓。因为新受了刺激,玛丽夜夜呼叫妈咪,白天也是吵吵嚷嚷,无片刻安宁。

   "My dear Marie, don't talk so!" said St. Clare. You ought not to give up the case so, at once.""

  亲爱的玛丽,你别这样!"圣克莱尔说,"你不能这么早就绝望。"

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名著·汤姆叔叔的小屋 - 第96节