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不，小姐--呵，不！那儿已没有人住了，我想你对附近地方很陌生，不然你会听到过去年秋天发生的事情。桑菲尔德府已经全毁了。大约秋收的时候烧掉的--一场可怕的灾难！那么多值钱的财产都毁掉了，几乎没有一件家具幸免。火灾是深夜发生的，从米尔科特来的救火车还没有开到，府宅已经是一片熊熊大火。这景象真可怕，我是亲眼见到的。" "At dead of night!" I muttered. Yes, that was ever the hour offatality at Thornfield. "Was it known how it originated?" Idemanded." 深夜！"我咕哝着。是呀，在桑菲尔德府那是致命的时刻。"知道是怎么引起的吗？"我问。 "They guessed, ma'am: they guessed. Indeed, I should say it wasascertained beyond a doubt. You are not perhaps aware," hecontinued, edging his chair a little nearer the table, and speakinglow, "that there was a lady--a--a lunatic, kept in the house?"" 他们猜想，小姐，他们是这么猜想的，其实，我该说那是确然无疑的。你也许不知道吧，"他往下说，把椅子往桌子稍稍挪了挪，声音放得很低，"有一位夫人--一个--一个疯子，关在屋子里？" "I have heard something of it."" 我隐隐约约听到过。" "She was kept in very close confinement, ma'am: people even forsome years was not absolutely certain of her existence. No one sawher: they only knew by rumour that such a person was at the Hall;and who or what she was it was difficult to conjecture. They saidMr. Edward had brought her from abroad, and some believed she hadbeen his mistress. But a queer thing happened a year since--a veryqueer thing."" 她被严加看管着，小姐。好几年了，外人都不能完全确定有她这么个人在。没有人见过她。他们只不过凭谣传知道，府里有这样一个人。她究竟是谁，干什么的，却很难想象。他们说是爱德华先生从国外把她带回来的。有人相信，是他的情妇。但一年前发生了一件奇怪的事情--一件非常奇怪的事情。" 
我担心这会儿要听我自己的故事了。我竭力把他拉回到正题上。 "And this lady?"" 这位太太呢？" "This lady, ma'am," he answered, "turned out to be Mr. Rochester'swife! The discovery was brought about in the strangest way. Therewas a young lady, a governess at the Hall, that Mr. Rochester fellin--"" 这位太太，小姐，"他回答，"原来就是罗切斯特先生的妻子！发现的方式也是再奇怪不过的。府上有一位年青小姐，是位家庭教师，罗切斯特先生与她相爱了--" "But the fire," I suggested." 可是火灾呢？"我提醒。 "I'm coming to that, ma'am--that Mr. Edward fell in love with. Theservants say they never saw anybody so much in love as he was: hewas after her continually. They used to watch him--servants will,you know, ma'am--and he set store on her past everything: for all,nobody but him thought her so very handsome. She was a little smallthing, they say, almost like a child. I never saw her myself; butI've heard Leah, the house-maid, tell of her. Leah liked her wellenough. Mr. Rochester was about forty, and this governess nottwenty; and you see, when gentlemen of his age fall in love withgirls, they are often like as if they were bewitched. Well, hewould marry her."" 我就要谈到了，小姐--爱德华先生爱上了。佣人们说，他们从来没有见到有谁像他那么倾心过。他死死追求她。他们总是注意着他--你知道佣人们会这样的，小姐--他倾慕她，胜过了一切。所有的人，除了他，没有人认为她很漂亮。他们说，她是个小不点儿，几乎象个孩子。我从来没有见过她，不过听女仆莉娅说起过。莉娅也是够喜欢她的。罗切斯特先生四十岁左右，这个家庭女教师还不到二十岁。你瞧，他这种年纪的男人爱上了姑娘们，往往象是神魂颠倒似的。是呀，他要娶她。" 
这部份故事改日再谈吧，"我说，"而现在我特别想要听听你说说大火的事儿。是不是怀疑这个疯子，罗切斯特太太参与其中？" "You've hit it, ma'am: it's quite certain that it was her, andnobody but her, that set it going. She had a woman to take care ofher called Mrs. Poole--an able woman in her line, and verytrustworthy, but for one fault--a fault common to a deal of themnurses and matrons--she KEPT A PRIVATE BOTTLE OF GIN BY HER, and nowand then took a drop over-much. It is excusable, for she had a hardlife of it: but still it was dangerous; for when Mrs. Poole wasfast asleep after the gin and water, the mad lady, who was ascunning as a witch, would take the keys out of her pocket, letherself out of her chamber, and go roaming about the house, doingany wild mischief that came into her head. They say she had nearlyburnt her husband in his bed once: but I don't know about that.However, on this night, she set fire first to the hangings of theroom next her own, and then she got down to a lower storey, and madeher way to the chamber that had been the governess's--(she was likeas if she knew somehow how matters had gone on, and had a spite ather)--and she kindled the bed there; but there was nobody sleepingin it, fortunately. The governess had run away two months before;and for all Mr. Rochester sought her as if she had been the mostprecious thing he had in the world, he never could hear a word ofher; and he grew savage--quite savage on his disappointment: henever was a wild man, but he got dangerous after he lost her. Hewould be alone, too. He sent Mrs. Fairfax, the housekeeper, away toher friends at a distance; but he did it handsomely, for he settledan annuity on her for life: and she deserved it--she was a verygood woman. Miss Adele, a ward he had, was put to school. He brokeoff acquaintance with all the gentry, and shut himself up like ahermit at the Hall."" 你说对了，小姐。肯定是她，除了她，没有谁会放火的。她有一个女人照应，名叫普尔太太--干那一行是很能干的，也很可靠。但有一个毛病--那些看护和主妇的通病--她私自留着-瓶杜松子酒，而且常常多喝那么一口。那也是可以原谅的，因为她活得太辛苦了，不过那很危险，酒和水一下肚，普尔太太睡得烂熟，那位像巫婆一般狡猾的疯女人，便会从她口袋里掏出钥匙，开了门溜出房间，在府宅游荡，心血来潮便什么荒唐的事都干得出来。他们说，有一回差一点把她的丈夫烧死在床上。不过我不知道那回事。但是，那天晚上，她先是放火点燃了隔壁房间的帷幔，随后下了一层楼，走到原来那位家庭女教师的房间（不知怎么搞的，她似乎知道事情的进展，而且对她怀恨在心）--给她的床放了把火，幸亏没有人睡在里面。两个月前，那个家庭女教师就出走了。尽管罗切斯特先生拼命找她，仿佛她是稀世珍宝，但她还是杳无音讯。他变得越来越粗暴了--因为失望而非常粗暴。他从来就不是一个性性情温和的人，而失去她以后，简直就危险了。他还喜欢孤身独处，把管家费尔法克斯太太送到她远方的朋友那儿去了。不过他做得很慷慨，付给她一笔终身年金，而她也是受之无愧的--她是一个很好的女人。他把他监护的阿黛勒小姐，送进了学校。与所有的绅士们断绝了往来，自己像隐士那样住在府上，闭门不出。" "What! did he not leave England?"" 什么！他没有离开英国？" "Leave England? Bless you, no! He would not cross the door-stonesof the house, except at night, when he walked just like a ghostabout the grounds and in the orchard as if he had lost his senses--which it is my opinion he had; for a more spirited, bolder, keenergentleman than he was before that midge of a governess crossed him,you never saw, ma'am. He was not a man given to wine, or cards, orracing, as some are, and he was not so very handsome; but he had acourage and a will of his own, if ever man had. I knew him from aboy, you see: and for my part, I have often wished that Miss Eyrehad been sunk in the sea before she came to Thornfield Hall."" 离开英国？哎哟，没有！他连门槛都不跨出去。除了夜里，他会像一个幽灵那样在庭院和果园里游荡--仿佛神经错乱似的--依我看是这么回事。他败在那位小个子女教师手里之前，小姐，你从来没见过哪位先生像他那么活跃，那么大胆、那么勇敢。他不是像有些人那样热衷于饮酒、玩牌和赛马，他也不怎么漂亮，但他有着男人特有的勇气和意志力。你瞧，他还是一个孩子的时候我就认识他了，至于我，但愿那位爱小姐，还没到桑菲尔德府就给沉到海底去了。" "Then Mr. Rochester was at home when the fire broke out?"" 那么起火时罗切斯特先生是在家里了？" 
不错，他确实在家。上上下下都烧起来的时候，他上了阁楼，把仆人们从床上叫醒，亲自帮他们下楼来--随后又返回去，要把发疯的妻子弄出房间。那时他们喊他，说她在屋顶。她站在城垛上、挥动着胳膊，大喊大叫，一英里外都听得见。我亲眼见了她，亲耳听到了她的声音。她个儿很大，头发又长又黑，站着时我们看到她的头发映着火光在飘动。我亲眼看到，还有好几个人也看到了罗切斯特先生穿过天窗爬上了屋顶。我们听他叫了声"佩莎！"我们见他朝她走去，随后，小姐，她大叫一声，纵身跳了下去，刹那之间，她已躺在路上，粉身碎骨了。" "Dead?"" 死了？" "Dead! Ay, dead as the stones on which her brains and blood werescattered."" 死了！呵，完全断气了，在石头上脑浆迸裂，鲜血四溅。" "Good God!"" 天哪！" "You may well say so, ma'am: it was frightful!" He shuddered." 你完全可以这么说，小姐，真吓人哪！"他打了个寒颤。 
那么后来呢？"我催促着， "Well, ma'am, afterwards the house was burnt to the ground: thereare only some bits of walls standing now."" 唉呀，小姐，后来整座房子都夷为平地了，眼下只有几截子墙还立着。" "Were any other lives lost?"" 还死了其他人吗？"
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