A MANUFACTURER called Frolov, a handsome dark man with a round beard, and a soft, velvety expression in his eyes, and Almer, his lawyer, an elderly man with a big rough head, were drinking in one of the public rooms of a restaurant on the outskirts of the town. —-
一个名叫弗罗洛夫的制造商，他是个英俊的黑人，有圆胡子，眼神温柔如绸缎；还有他的律师阿尔默，一个年迈的粗头大脑袋的人，两人在城外一家餐厅的公共房间喝酒。 —-

They had both come to the restaurant straight from a ball and so were wearing dress coats and white ties. —-
他们俩直接从舞会上来到这家餐厅，所以穿着礼服外套和领带。 —-

Except them and the waiters at the door there was not a soul in the room; —-
除了他们和门口的侍者之外，房间里一个人都没有； —-

by Frolov’s orders no one else was admitted.
弗罗洛夫的命令是不准其他人进来。

They began by drinking a big wine-glass of vodka and eating oysters.
他们开始喝了一大杯伏特加，并吃牡蛎。

“Good!” said Almer. “It was I brought oysters into fashion for the first course, my boy. —-
“好！”阿尔默说。“我的朋友，我第一个把牡蛎作为第一道菜引入时尚。 —-

The vodka burns and stings your throat and you have a voluptuous sensation in your throat when you swallow an oyster. Don’t you?”
伏特加燃烧并刺痛你的喉咙，当你咽下一颗牡蛎时，你会感到一种美妙的感觉。不是吗？”

A dignified waiter with a shaven upper lip and grey whiskers put a sauceboat on the table.
一个庄重的侍者，留着光洁的上唇和灰色胡须，放了一个酱船在桌子上。

“What’s that you are serving?” asked Frolov.
“你们要吃什么？”弗罗洛夫问道。

“Sauce Provençale for the herring, sir. . . .”
“这是为鲱鱼准备的普罗旺斯酱，先生……”

“What! is that the way to serve it?” shouted Frolov, not looking into the sauceboat. —-
“什么！像这样上菜？”弗罗洛夫大喊，没有看酱船。 —-

“Do you call that sauce? You don’t know how to wait, you blockhead!”
“你把这当作酱料？你根本不知道怎么上菜，你这个蠢货！”

Frolov’s velvety eyes flashed. He twisted a corner of the table-cloth round his finger, made a slight movement, and the dishes, the candlesticks, and the bottles, all jingling and clattering, fell with a crash on the floor.
弗罗洛夫的丝绒般的眼睛闪烁着。他用手指拧住桌布一角，轻轻一动，盘子、烛台和瓶子都掉在地上，发出叮当声。

The waiters, long accustomed to pot-house catastrophes, ran up to the table and began picking up the fragments with grave and unconcerned faces, like surgeons at an operation.
服务员们一向习惯了各种酒馆的灾难，跑到桌子前开始用严肃而无动于衷的表情捡拾碎片，就像做手术的外科医生一样。

“How well you know how to manage them!” said Almer, and he laughed. “But . . . —-
“你真是太懂得如何处理他们了！”阿尔默说，并笑了起来。“但是……” —-

move a little away from the table or you will step in the caviare.”
稍微离开桌子一些，否则你会踩到鱼子酱。

“Call the engineer here!” cried Frolov.
“把工程师叫过来！”弗罗洛夫大喊道。

This was the name given to a decrepit, doleful old man who really had once been an engineer and very well off; —-
这是给一个憔悴、悲伤的老人起的名字，他曾经是一位工程师，非常富有； —-

he had squandered all his property and towards the end of his life had got into a restaurant where he looked after the waiters and singers and carried out various commissions relating to the fair sex. —-
他挥霍了所有的财产，在生命的最后阶段进了一家餐馆，在那里照料服务员和歌手，并执行与女性有关的各种任务。 —-

Appearing at the summons, he put his head on one side respectfully.
听到召唤，他恭敬地歪着头。

“Listen, my good man,” Frolov said, addressing him. “What’s the meaning of this disorder? —-
“听着，我这位好人，”弗罗洛夫这样对他说，“这乱七八糟的是什么意思？ —-

How queerly you fellows wait! Don’t you know that I don’t like it? —-
你们等待的方式真是奇怪！你们不知道我不喜欢这样吗？ —-

Devil take you, I shall give up coming to you!”
该死的，我都要不来找你们了！”

“I beg you graciously to excuse it, Alexey Semyonitch! —-
“阁下，请恕我无礼，亚历克谢·谢蒙诺维奇！”工程师说着，手放在胸前。 —-

” said the engineer, laying his hand on his heart. —-
“我将立即采取措施，您的任何愿望都将以最好和最快的方式实现。” —-

“I will take steps immediately, and your slightest wishes shall be carried out in the best and speediest way.”
“好吧，可以了，你可以走了….”

“Well, that’ll do, you can go. . . .”
工程师鞠躬，摇摇晃晃地退后，还是弯着身子，带着他衬衫前胸和手指上的假钻石的闪光，消失在门口。

The engineer bowed, staggered back, still doubled up, and disappeared through the doorway with a final flash of the false diamonds on his shirt-front and fingers.
餐桌重新摆好。阿尔默喝着红酒，津津有味地吃着一种配有松露的鸟肉，并点了一份烩豆鱼和一条背里含尾的鲟鱼。

The table was laid again. Almer drank red wine and ate with relish some sort of bird served with truffles, and ordered a matelote of eelpouts and a sterlet with its tail in its mouth. —-
弗罗洛夫只喝伏特加，只吃面包。 —-

Frolov only drank vodka and ate nothing but bread. —-
弗罗洛夫只喝伏特加，只吃面包。 —-

He rubbed his face with his open hands, scowled, and was evidently out of humour. Both were silent. —-
他用双手摩擦着脸，皱着眉头，显然情绪不好。两人都沉默不语。 —-

There was a stillness. Two electric lights in opaque shades flickered and hissed as though they were angry. —-
屋子里静悄悄的。两盏插着不透明灯罩的电灯闪烁着，发出沮丧的嘶嘶声。 —-

The gypsy girls passed the door, softly humming.
吉普赛女孩们轻轻地哼着歌，从门前经过。

“One drinks and is none the merrier,” said Frolov. —-
“一个人喝酒却不更开心，”弗洛洛夫说。 —-

“The more I pour into myself, the more sober I become. —-
“我喝得越多，越变得清醒。” —-

Other people grow festive with vodka, but I suffer from anger, disgusting thoughts, sleeplessness. —-
“别人喝伏特加会变得愉快，而我却感到愤怒、恶心的念头和失眠。” —-

Why is it, old man, that people don’t invent some other pleasure besides drunkenness and debauchery? —-
“老同志，为什么人们不发明除了醉酒和放荡之外的其他快乐呢？” —-

It’s really horrible!”
“真的很可怕！”

“You had better send for the gypsy girls.”
“你最好叫来吉普赛女孩。”

“Confound them!”
“该死的！”

The head of an old gypsy woman appeared in the door from the passage.
一位年老的吉普赛妇女从门道里露出了头。

“Alexey Semyonitch, the gypsies are asking for tea and brandy,” said the old woman. —-
“亚列克谢·谢蒙尼奇，吉普赛人要求喝茶和白兰地，”老妇人说道。 —-

“May we order it?”
“我们可以点吗？”

“Yes,” answered Frolov. “You know they get a percentage from the restaurant keeper for asking the visitors to treat them. —-
“可以，”弗洛洛夫回答道。“你知道他们会从饭店老板那里得到一部分费用，以便要求游客招待他们。” —-

Nowadays you can’t even believe a man when he asks for vodka. —-
“如今，连一个人借酒行乐的请求都不能相信了。” —-

The people are all mean, vile, spoilt. Take these waiters, for instance. —-
这些人都很刻薄、恶劣、娇纵。比如，就拿这些服务员来说。 —-

They have countenances like professors, and grey heads; —-
他们长得像教授，年纪大了； —-

they get two hundred roubles a month, they live in houses of their own and send their girls to the high school, but you may swear at them and give yourself airs as much as you please. —-
他们每个月挣两百卢布，住自己的房子，把女儿送到高中，但你可以随便骂他们，摆出大牌的样子，尽情发泄。 —-

For a rouble the engineer will gulp down a whole pot of mustard and crow like a cock. —-
只要给他一卢布，工程师就会一口气把一整罐芥末吞下去，然后像公鸡一样打鸣。 —-

On my honour, if one of them would take offence I would make him a present of a thousand roubles.”
我向你发誓，如果其中一个人生气了，我就给他一千卢布做礼物。

“What’s the matter with you?” said Almer, looking at him with surprise. —-
“你怎么了？”奥尔默诧异地问道。 —-

“Whence this melancholy? You are red in the face, you look like a wild animal. —-
“为什么这么忧郁？你的脸红红的，看起来像个野兽。 —-

. . . What’s the matter with you?”
…你怎么了？”

“It’s horrid. There’s one thing I can’t get out of my head. —-
“这太可怕了。有一件事我就是摆脱不了。 —-

It seems as though it is nailed there and it won’t come out.”
好像它被釘在那里，不肯出来。”

A round little old man, buried in fat and completely bald, wearing a short reefer jacket and lilac waistcoat and carrying a guitar, walked into the room. —-
一个圆胖的老人，浑身肥胖，秃顶，穿着一件短军大衣和紫色背心，提着一个吉他走进了房间。 —-

He made an idiotic face, drew himself up, and saluted like a soldier.
他扮鬼脸，挺直了身子，像个士兵敬礼。

“Ah, the parasite!” said Frolov, “let me introduce him, he has made his fortune by grunting like a pig. —-
“哦，这个寄生虫！”弗洛洛夫说：”让我介绍一下，他通过像猪一样咕嘟咕嘟叫发了大财。 —-

Come here!” He poured vodka, wine, and brandy into a glass, sprinkled pepper and salt into it, mixed it all up and gave it to the parasite. —-
过来！”他倒入伏特加、红酒和白兰地，撒了点胡椒和盐进去，搅拌均匀，给寄生虫喝。 —-

The latter tossed it off and smacked his lips with gusto.
寄生虫喝完，满意地咂了咂嘴唇。

“He’s accustomed to drink a mess so that pure wine makes him sick,” said Frolov. —-
“他习惯喝乱七八糟的东西，所以纯净的酒会让他恶心，”弗罗洛夫说。 —-

“Come, parasite, sit down and sing.”
“来吧，寄生虫，坐下来唱歌。”

The old man sat down, touched the strings with his fat fingers, and began singing:
老人坐下来，用他的肥手触碰着琴弦，开始唱歌：

“Neetka, neetka, Margareetka. . . .” After drinking champagne Frolov was drunk. —-
“涅特卡，涅特卡，玛格丽特卡……”喝了香槟，弗罗洛夫变醉了。 —-

He thumped with his fist on the table and said:
他用拳头敲击着桌子，说道：

“Yes, there’s something that sticks in my head! It won’t give me a minute’s peace!”
“是的，有些东西一直困扰着我！它不让我有片刻的安宁！”

“Why, what is it?”
“为什么，是什么事情？”

“I can’t tell you. It’s a secret. It’s something so private that I could only speak of it in my prayers. —-
“我不能告诉你。这是个秘密。它是如此私人，我只能在祈祷中谈论它。 —-

But if you like . . . as a sign of friendship, between ourselves . . . —-
但是如果你愿意……作为友谊的象征，我们之间的事…… —-

only mind, to no one, no, no, no, . . . I’ll tell you, it will ease my heart, but for God’s sake . —-
只是要记住，对没有人说，不，不，不……我会告诉你，这会减轻我的心灵负担，但是求求你…… —-

. . listen and forget it. . . .”
听着，然后忘了它……”

Frolov bent down to Almer and for a minute breathed in his ear.
弗罗洛夫低下头，凑近阿尔默耳朵旁呼了一口气。

“I hate my wife!” he brought out.
“我讨厌我妻子！”他嗓音低沉地说出来。

The lawyer looked at him with surprise.
律师惊讶地看着他。

“Yes, yes, my wife, Marya Mihalovna,” Frolov muttered, flushing red. —-
“是的，是的，我妻子，玛丽亚·米哈洛夫娜，”弗罗洛夫嘟哝着，脸红了。 —-

“I hate her and that’s all about it.”
“我讨厌她，就是这样。”

“What for?”
“为什么？”

“I don’t know myself! I’ve only been married two years. —-
“我自己也不知道！我们才结婚两年。 —-

I married as you know for love, and now I hate her like a mortal enemy, like this parasite here, saving your presence. —-
你知道的，我是为了爱而结婚的，现在我恨她像个死敌，就像这个寄生虫一样，恕在下失礼。 —-

And there is no cause, no sort of cause! —-
没有任何原因，任何种类的原因！ —-

When she sits by me, eats, or says anything, my whole soul boils, I can scarcely restrain myself from being rude to her. —-
当她坐在我旁边、吃东西或者说任何事情的时候，我的整个灵魂都在翻腾，我几乎无法控制自己对她的粗鲁。 —-

It’s something one can’t describe. To leave her or tell her the truth is utterly impossible because it would be a scandal, and living with her is worse than hell for me. —-
这是一个无法言喻的感觉。告诉她真相或离开她都是不可能的，那会引起丑闻，而和她在一起对我来说比地狱还糟糕。 —-

I can’t stay at home! I spend my days at business and in the restaurants and spend my nights in dissipation. —-
我不能待在家里！我白天呆在公司里，晚上到餐馆里，整夜纵情享乐。 —-

Come, how is one to explain this hatred? —-
告诉我，怎么解释这种仇恨？ —-

She is not an ordinary woman, but handsome, clever, quiet.”
她不是一个普通的女人，而是漂亮、聪明、温和的。”

The old man stamped his foot and began singing:
老人跺着脚开始唱歌：

“I went a walk with a captain bold, And in his ear my secrets told.”
“我和一个勇敢的船长一起散步，告诉他我的秘密。”

“I must own I always thought that Marya Mihalovna was not at all the right person for you,” said Almer after a brief silence, and he heaved a sigh.
“我必须承认，我一直认为玛丽娅·米哈洛夫娜不是适合你的人。”阿尔梅尔在短暂的沉默后说，他叹了口气。

“Do you mean she is too well educated? . . . —-
“你是说她受教育太好了吗？ —-

I took the gold medal at the commercial school myself, I have been to Paris three times. —-
我自己在商学院获得了金牌，我去过巴黎三次。” —-

I am not cleverer than you, of course, but I am no more foolish than my wife. —-
我当然不比你聪明，但也不比我妻子愚蠢。 —-

No, brother, education is not the sore point. Let me tell you how all the trouble began. —-
不，兄弟，教育不是痛点。让我告诉你问题是怎么开始的。 —-

It began with my suddenly fancying that she had married me not from love, but for the sake of my money. —-
起初，我突然觉得她嫁给我并不是出于爱情，而是为了我的钱。 —-

This idea took possession of my brain. I have done all I could think of, but the cursed thing sticks! —-
这个想法占据了我的脑海。我已经尽力去做了一切我能想到的事情，但这该死的东西总是纠缠着我！ —-

And to make it worse my wife was overtaken with a passion for luxury. —-
更糟糕的是，我妻子迷上了奢侈品。 —-

Getting into a sack of gold after poverty, she took to flinging it in all directions. —-
从贫穷中走出来后，她开始挥金如土。 —-

She went quite off her head, and was so carried away that she used to get through twenty thousand every month. —-
她变得疯狂起来，每个月都花掉二十万。 —-

And I am a distrustful man. I don’t believe in anyone, I suspect everybody. —-
而我是个多疑的人。我对任何人都不相信，我怀疑每个人。 —-

And the more friendly you are to me the greater my torment. —-
你对我越友好，我的痛苦就越大。 —-

I keep fancying I am being flattered for my money. I trust no one! —-
我总觉得别人在奉承我有钱。我不信任任何人！ —-

I am a difficult man, my boy, very difficult!”
我是一个难以相处的人，我的孩子，非常难相处！”

Frolov emptied his glass at one gulp and went on.
弗罗洛夫一口气喝完了酒，接着说道。

“But that’s all nonsense,” he said. “One never ought to speak of it. It’s stupid. —-
“但这都是胡说八道，”他说。”我们永远不应该谈论这个。这太愚蠢了。 —-

I am tipsy and I have been chattering, and now you are looking at me with lawyer’s eyes—glad you know some one else’s secret. —-
我喝醉了，一直在唠叨，现在你用律师的眼光看着我——很高兴你知道别人的秘密。 —-

Well, well! . . . Let us drop this conversation. Let us drink! —-
好吧，好吧！我们别再谈这个了。我们喝酒吧！ —-

I say,” he said, addressing a waiter, “is Mustafa here? Fetch him in!”
我说：“他对着一个侍者说道，‘穆斯塔法在这吗？请把他找来！’”。

Shortly afterwards there walked into the room a little Tatar boy, aged about twelve, wearing a dress coat and white gloves.
随后，一个大约十二岁的小鞑靼男孩走进了房间，穿着一件礼服外套和白手套。

“Come here!” Frolov said to him. “Explain to us the following fact: —-
“过来！”弗罗洛夫对他说道，“向我们解释一下以下事实： —-

there was a time when you Tatars conquered us and took tribute from us, but now you serve us as waiters and sell dressing-gowns. —-
曾经有一段时间，你们鞑靼人征服了我们并向我们征收赋税，但现在你们却作为服务员为我们服务，出售浴袍。 —-

How do you explain such a change?”
你如何解释这种变化呢？”

Mustafa raised his eyebrows and said in a shrill voice, with a sing-song intonation: —-
穆斯塔法抬起眉毛，以一种高声、唱词般的语调说道： —-

“The mutability of destiny!”
“命运的变幻不定！”

Almer looked at his grave face and went off into peals of laughter.
阿尔梅尔看着他严肃的脸庞，笑得前仰后合。

“Well, give him a rouble!” said Frolov. —-
“给他一卢布！” 弗罗洛夫说道。 —-

“He is making his fortune out of the mutability of destiny. —-
“他正在通过命运的多变性发财。 —-

He is only kept here for the sake of those two words. Drink, Mustafa! —-
他只是为了那两个字才被留在这里的。 喝吧，穆斯塔法！ —-

You will make a gre-eat rascal! I mean it is awful how many of your sort are toadies hanging about rich men. —-
“你会变成一个很坏的家伙！我的意思是，你这种奴才多得不可计数地吊在富人身边，真是太可怕了。 —-

The number of these peaceful bandits and robbers is beyond all reckoning! —-
“这些和平的土匪和强盗的数量是难以计数的！ —-

Shouldn’t we send for the gypsies now? Eh? —-
“现在应该叫吉普赛人来了吧？嗯？ —-

Fetch the gypsies along!”
“把吉普赛人带来！”

The gypsies, who had been hanging about wearily in the corridors for a long time, burst with whoops into the room, and a wild orgy began.
吉普赛人在走廊里已经疲惫地徘徊了很长时间，突然冲进房间，开始了一场疯狂的狂欢。

“Drink!” Frolov shouted to them. “Drink! Seed of Pharaoh! Sing! A-a-ah!”
“喝吧！” 弗罗洛夫朝他们喊道，“喝吧！法老的后裔！唱歌吧！啊啊啊！”

“In the winter time . . . o-o-ho! . . . the sledge was flying . . .”
“在冬天……噢……雪橇在飞翔……”

The gypsies sang, whistled, danced. In the frenzy which sometimes takes possession of spoilt and very wealthy men, “broad natures,” Frolov began to play the fool. —-
吉普赛人唱着歌，吹着口哨，跳着舞。在有时候会被宠坏的富人，也就是“性格开阔”的人中会发作的狂热中，弗罗洛夫开始耍酷。 —-

He ordered supper and champagne for the gypsies, broke the shade of the electric light, shied bottles at the pictures and looking-glasses, and did it all apparently without the slightest enjoyment, scowling and shouting irritably, with contempt for the people, with an expression of hatred in his eyes and his manners. —-
他为吉普赛人点了晚餐和香槟，打碎了电灯的灯罩，朝画和镜子扔瓶子，这一切看上去似乎完全没有享受，他脸色阴沉，急躁地叫喊着，对人民轻蔑地、带着仇恨的眼神和态度。 —-

He made the engineer sing a solo, made the bass singers drink a mixture of wine, vodka, and oil.
他让工程师独唱，让低音歌手喝一种混合了红酒、伏特加和油的饮料。

At six o’clock they handed him the bill.
六点钟的时候，他们递给他账单。

“Nine hundred and twenty-five roubles, forty kopecks,” said Almer, and shrugged his shoulders. —-
“九百二十五卢布四十戈比，”阿尔默说着，耸了耸肩膀。 —-

“What’s it for? No, wait, we must go into it!”
“这是做什么用的？不，等等，我们必须搞清楚！”

“Stop!” muttered Frolov, pulling out his pocket-book. “Well! . . . let them rob me. —-
“停下！”弗罗洛夫嘟囔着，掏出了他的口袋本。“好吧！让他们抢吧。 —-

That’s what I’m rich for, to be robbed! . . . You can’t get on without parasites! . . . —-
作为一个富人，我就是用来被抢劫的！你不能没有寄生虫！… —-

You are my lawyer. You get six thousand a year out of me and what for? —-
你是我的律师。每年我都给你六千，为了什么呢？ —-

But excuse me, . . . I don’t know what I am saying.”
但对不起，我不知道我在说什么。”

As he was returning home with Almer, Frolov murmured:
当弗罗洛夫和阿尔默一起回家的时候，他低声说道：

“Going home is awful to me! Yes! . . . There isn’t a human being I can open my soul to. . . . —-
“回家对我来说太可怕了！是的！没有一个人可以倾吐我内心的秘密…… —-

They are all robbers . . . traitors . . . . —-
他们都是强盗……叛徒……。 —-

Oh, why did I tell you my secret? Yes . . . —-
噢，为什么我告诉你我的秘密？是的…… —-

why? Tell me why?”
为什么？告诉我为什么？”

At the entrance to his house, he craned forward towards Almer and, staggering, kissed him on the lips, having the old Moscow habit of kissing indiscriminately on every occasion.
在他的房子入口处，他向阿尔默伸过脖子，蹒跚地吻了他的嘴唇，这是在莫斯科常见的随意亲吻习惯。

“Good-bye . . . I am a difficult, hateful man,” he said. “A horrid, drunken, shameless life. —-
“再见……我是一个难以相处的，可恶的人，”他说。“可怕的，醉醺醺的，无耻的生活。 —-

You are a well-educated, clever man, but you only laugh and drink with me . . . —-
你是一个受过良好教育，聪明的人，但你只是和我一起笑着喝酒…… —-

there’s no help from any of you. . . . —-
你们都没有任何帮助……。 —-

But if you were a friend to me, if you were an honest man, in reality you ought to have said to me: —-
但是如果你是我的朋友，如果你是一个真正诚实的人，你应该对我说： —-

‘Ugh, you vile, hateful man! You reptile!’”
“噁心，你这个卑鄙、可恶的人！你就像爬行动物！”

“Come, come,” Almer muttered, “go to bed.”
“来吧，来吧，”阿尔默喃喃着，“去睡觉吧。”

“There is no help from you; the only hope is that, when I am in the country in the summer, I may go out into the fields and a storm come on and the thunder may strike me dead on the spot. . . . Good-bye.”
“你无法帮助我；唯一的希望是在夏天我在乡下的时候，可以去田野里，让一场暴风雨来临，雷电将我一命呜呼……再见。”

Frolov kissed Almer once more and muttering and dropping asleep as he walked, began mounting the stairs, supported by two footmen.
弗罗洛夫再次亲吻了阿尔默，嘟哝着，跟着两个仆人的帮助睡着走上了楼梯。