目 录 上一节 下一节 
“你先去关照厨房里的人，如果有人拉铃，别开门，然后你再来坐下。” This order was given at one in the morning. 她吩咐这件事的时候，已是半夜一点钟了。 We laughed, we drank, we ate a great deal at that supperparty. Within minutes, the merriment had sunk to the lowest level, and witticisms of the kind which certain smart circles find so amusing and never fail to defile the lips of those who utter them, erupted periodically to be greeted with loud acclamations by Nanine, Prudence and Marguerite. Gaston was enjoying himself unreservedly: he was a young man whose heart was in the right place, but his mind had been a little warped by the kind of people he had mixed with in his early days. At one point, I had opted to steel myself, to make my heart and my thoughts immune to the spectacle before my eyes, and to contribute my share to the jollity which seemed to be a dish on the menu. But, little by little, I cut myself off from the uproar, my glass had stayed full and I had grown almost sad as I watched this beautiful creature of twenty drink, talk like a stevedore, and laugh all the louder as what was said became more shocking. 在吃夜宵的时候，大家嬉笑玩乐，狂饮大嚼。过不多久，欢乐已经到了顶点，不时可以听到一些不堪入耳的脏话，这种话在某个圈子里却被认为是很逗乐的，纳尼娜，普律当丝和玛格丽特听了都为之欢呼。加斯东纵情玩乐，他是一个心地善良的青年，但是他的头脑有点糊涂。我一度真想随波逐流，不要独善其身，索性参加到这场如同一盘美肴似的欢乐中去算了。但是慢慢地我就同这场喧闹分离开来了，我停止饮酒，看着这个二十岁的美丽的女人喝酒，她的谈笑粗鲁得就像一个脚夫，别人讲的话越下流，她就笑得越起劲，我心情越来越忧郁了。 But the merriment, this way of talking and drinking which seemed to me to be in the other guests the effects of dissoluteness, habit and duress, appeared with Marguerite to be a need to forget, a restlessness, a nervous reaction. With each glass of champagne, her cheeks took on a feverish flush, and a cough, which had been nothing at the start of supper, eventually became sufficiently troublesome to force her head against the back of her chair and make her hold her chest with both hands each time the coughing seized her. 然而这样的寻欢作乐，这种讲话和喝酒的姿态，对在座的其他客人们似乎可以说是放荡、坏习气，或者精力旺盛的结果；但在玛格丽特身上，我却觉得是一种忘却现实的需要、一种冲动、一种神经质的激动。每饮一杯香槟酒，她的面颊上就泛起一阵发烧的红晕。夜宵开始时，她咳嗽还很轻微，慢慢地她越咳越厉害，不得不把头仰靠在椅背上，每当咳嗽发作时，她的双手便用力按住胸脯。 I felt the pain which these daily excesses must have inflicted upon so frail a constitution. 她身体孱弱，每天还要过这样的放荡生活，以此折磨自己，我真为她心疼。 
后来，我担心的事终于发生了，在夜宵快结束时，玛格丽特一阵狂咳，这是我来到她家里以来她咳得最厉害的一次，我觉得她的肺好像在她胸膛里撕碎了。可怜的姑娘脸涨得绯红，痛苦地闭上了眼睛，拿起餐巾擦着嘴唇，餐巾上随即染上了一滴鲜血，于是她站起身来，奔进了梳妆间。 'What's up with Marguerite?' asked Gaston. “玛格丽特怎么啦？”加斯东问。 'What's up with her is that she's been laughing too much and is spitting blood, ' said Prudence. 'Oh, it won't be anything, it happens every day. She'll come back. Let's just leave her alone. She prefers it that way.' “她笑得太厉害，咳出血来了，”普律当丝说，“啊，没事，她每天都是这样的。她就要回来的。让她一个人在那儿好啦，她喜欢这样。” For my part, I could bear it no longer and, to the great astonishment of Prudence and Nanine who called me back, I went in to join Marguerite. 至于我，我可忍不住了，不管普律当丝和纳尼娜非常惊讶地想叫住我，我还是站起身来径自去找玛格丽特。 THE room in which she had taken refuge was lit by a single candle on a table. Lying back on a large couch, her dress undone, she held one hand on her heart and allowed the other to hang limply. On the table was a silver basin half full of water. The water was mottled with flecks of blood. 她躲进去的那个房间只点着一支蜡烛，蜡烛放在桌子上。她斜靠在一张大沙发上，裙衣敞开着，一只手按在心口上，另一只手悬在沙发外面，桌子上有一只银脸盆，盛着半盆清水； 水里漂浮着一缕缕大理石花纹似的血丝。 
玛格丽特脸色惨白，半张着嘴，竭力想喘过气来，她不时深深地吸气，然后长嘘一声，似乎这样可以轻松一些，可以舒畅几秒钟。 I went to her ?she did not stir ?sat down and took the hand which was resting on the couch. 我走到她面前，她纹丝不动，我坐了下来，握住她搁在沙发上的那只手。 'Ah! Is it you?' she said with a smile. “啊！是您？”她微笑着对我说。 My face must have looked distraught, for she added:'Aren't you very well either?' 大概我脸上表情很紧张，因为她接着又问我，“难道您也生病了？” 'I'm all right, but how about you? Are you still feeling ill?' “我没有病，可是您呢，您还觉得不舒服吗？” 
“还有一点儿，”她用手绢擦掉了她咳出来的眼泪，说，“这种情况我现在已经惯了。” 'You are killing yourself, ' I said, and there was emotion in my voice. 'I wish I could be your friend, a relative, so that I could stop you harming yourself like this.' “您这是在自杀，夫人，”我用一种激动的声音对她说，“我要做您的朋友，您的亲人，我要劝您不要这样糟蹋自己。” 'Ah! There's absolutely no need for you to be alarmed, ' she replied bitterly. 'You can see how well the others look after me. The truth is they know there's nothing anybody can do about what I've got.' “啊！您实在用不着这么大惊小怪，”她用带点儿辛酸的语调争辩说，“您看其他人是否还关心我，因为他们非常清楚这种病是无药可治的。” Thereupon, she got to her feet and, taking the candle, set it on the mantelpiece and looked at herself in the mirror. 她说完后就站起身，拿起蜡烛放在壁炉上，对着镜子照着。 'How pale I look!' she said, refastening her dress and running her fingers through her dishevelled hair. 'Oh, who cares! Let's go back into supper. Are you coming?' “我的脸色有多么苍白啊！”她边说边把裙衣系好，用手指掠着散乱的头发，“啊！行了！我们回到桌子上去，来吧。” 
但是我还是坐着不动。 She realized just how shaken I had been by this scene, for she came up to me and, holding out her hand, she said: 她知道我这种情感是被这幕景象引起的，便走近我的身边，把手伸给我说： 'Don't be silly. Do come.' “看您，来吧。” I took her hand which I put to my lips, and despite myself I moistened it with a few pent-up tears. 我接住她的手，把它放在唇边吻着，两滴忍了好久的泪水不由自主地流了出来，润湿了她的手。 'Well, now! You really are a child!' she said, as she sat down again beside me. 'There, you're crying! What's the matter?' “嗳，多孩子气！”她一面说一面重新在我身边坐下，“啊，您在哭！您怎么啦？” 
“您一定以为我有点痴，可我刚才看到的景象使我非常难过。” 'You are really very kind! But what do you expect? I can't sleep, I've got to take my mind off things for a while. And anyhow, with girls like me, if there's one more or fewer of us, what difference does it make? The doctors tell me the blood I cough is really only bronchial; I pretend I believe them, it's all I can do for them.' “您心肠真好！您叫我怎么办好呢？我晚上睡不着，那就只得稍微消遣消遣；再说像我这样的姑娘，多一个少一个又有什么关系呢？医生对我说这是支气管出血，我装着相信他们的话，我对他们还能怎么样呢？” 'Listen, Marguerite, ' I said then, with an effusion which I was unable to check, 'I don't know what sort of influence you might have over my life, but I do know this: at this moment, there is no one, not even my sister, about whom I feel more concerned than you. It's been like that ever since I first saw you. So, in Heaven's name, look after yourself properly, don't go on living as you do.' “请听我说，玛格丽特，”我再也抑制不住自己的感情了，就说，“我不知道您对我的生命会产生什么样的影响，但是我所知道的是，眼下我最关心的就是您，我对您的关心超过了对任何人，甚至超过了对我妹妹的关心。这种心情自从见到您以来就有了。好吧，请看在上天的份上，好好保重自己的身体吧，别再像您现在这样地生活了吧！” 'If I looked after myself properly, I'd die. What keeps me going is the pace of the life I lead. In any case, taking care of yourself is all well and good for society ladies who have a family and friends. But women like me are abandoned the moment we're no more use for feeding the vanity or pleasure of our lovers, and then long, empty evenings follow long empty days. I know, believe me. I was in bed for two months; after the first three weeks, no one came to see me any more.' “如果我保重自己的身体，我反而会死去，现在支撑着我的，就是我现在过的这种充满狂热的生活。说到保重自己的身体，那只是指那些有家庭、有朋友的上流社会的太太小姐们说的，而我们这些人呢，一旦我们不能满足情人的虚荣心，不能供他们寻欢作乐，消愁解闷，他们就会把我们撇在一边，我们就只好度日如年地忍受苦难，这些事我知道得一清二楚，哼！我在床上躺了两个月，第三个星期之后就谁也不来看我了。”
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