A DISTRICT doctor and an examining magistrate were driving one fine spring day to an inquest. —-
一个辖区的医生和一位侦查大法官正驾车出发前往一处调查。 —-

The examining magistrate, a man of five and thirty, looked dreamily at the horses and said:
那位侦查大法官，一个35岁的人，望着马匹发呆地说道：

“There is a great deal that is enigmatic and obscure in nature; —-
“自然界有许多是神秘和模糊的； —-

and even in everyday life, doctor, one must often come upon phenomena which are absolutely incapable of explanation. —-
即使在日常生活中，医生，我们经常会遇到无法解释的现象。 —-

I know, for instance, of several strange, mysterious deaths, the cause of which only spiritualists and mystics will undertake to explain; —-
比如，我知道有几起奇怪的、神秘的死亡案例，只有灵媒和神秘主义者才敢试图解释； —-

a clear-headed man can only lift up his hands in perplexity. —-
一个头脑清醒的人只能茫然地举起双手。 —-

For example, I know of a highly cultured lady who foretold her own death and died without any apparent reason on the very day she had predicted. —-
举例来说，我认识一个受过良好教育的女士，她预测自己的死亡，并在她所预言的那一天毫无明显原因地死去。 —-

She said that she would die on a certain day, and she did die.”
她说她会在某一天去世，结果她确实去世了。”

“There’s no effect without a cause,” said the doctor. —-
“没有原因就没有结果，”医生说道。 —-

“If there’s a death there must be a cause for it. —-
“如果有死亡，肯定有其原因。 —-

But as for predicting it there’s nothing very marvellous in that. —-
但是预测死亡并没有什么特别神奇的地方。 —-

All our ladies—all our females, in fact—have a turn for prophecies and presentiments.”
我们的女士们，事实上，所有的女性，都对预言和预感有兴趣。”

“Just so, but my lady, doctor, was quite a special case. —-
“没错，但是我的女士，医生，是个特例。 —-

There was nothing like the ladies’ or other females’ presentiments about her prediction and her death. —-
她的预言和死亡与其他女士或其他女性的预感完全不同。 —-

She was a young woman, healthy and clever, with no superstitions of any sort. —-
她是一个年轻的、健康聪明的女人，没有任何迷信。 —-

She had such clear, intelligent, honest eyes; —-
她有着如此清澈、聪明和诚实的眼睛； —-

an open, sensible face with a faint, typically Russian look of mockery in her eyes and on her lips. —-
她的面庞开朗而明智，眼睛和嘴唇上都带着一丝典型的俄罗斯嘲笑的神情。 —-

There was nothing of the fine lady or of the female about her, except—if you like— her beauty! —-
除了她的美丽之外，她一点也不像一个高雅的女士或女性！ —-

She was graceful, elegant as that birch tree; she had wonderful hair. —-
她像那棵桦树一样优雅而典雅，她有着美丽的头发。 —-

That she may be intelligible to you, I will add, too, that she was a person of the most infectious gaiety and carelessness and that intelligent, good sort of frivolity which is only found in good-natured, light-hearted people with brains. —-
为了让你理解她，我还要补充一点，她是一个极具感染力和无所顾忌的人，她有着只有善良、无忧人士才有的聪明、好玩的轻浮气质。 —-

Can one talk of mysticism, spiritualism, a turn for presentiment, or anything of that sort, in this case? —-
在这种情况下，我们能谈论神秘主义、灵性主义、预感或其他任何类似的事吗？ —-

She used to laugh at all that.”
她过去常常嘲笑这一切。

The doctor’s chaise stopped by a well. —-
医生的马车在一口井旁停下来。 —-

The examining magistrate and the doctor drank some water, stretched, and waited for the coachman to finish watering the horses.
侦查法官和医生喝了点水，伸了伸懒腰，等车夫喂完马。

“Well, what did the lady die of?” asked the doctor when the chaise was rolling along the road again.
“那么，这位女士是怎么死的？”医生在马车重新上路时问道。

“She died in a strange way. One fine day her husband went in to her and said that it wouldn’t be amiss to sell their old coach before the spring and to buy something rather newer and lighter instead, and that it might be as well to change the left trace horse and to put Bobtchinsky (that was the name of one of her husband’s horses) in the shafts.
“她以一种奇怪的方式去世了。有一天，她的丈夫走进她的房间，说春天到了，他们的旧马车不妨卖掉，换一辆新一点、轻巧一些的马车，并且也许会将左侧的曳马替换掉，让家里的一匹马——鲍布钦斯基（她丈夫的一匹马的名字）上轭。

“His wife listened to him and said:
“她的妻子听着，说道：

“‘Do as you think best, but it makes no difference to me now. —-
“‘你随你自己的意思去做吧，对我来说没有什么区别。 —-

Before the summer I shall be in the cemetery.’
在夏天之前，我将躺在墓地里。

“Her husband, of course, shrugged his shoulders and smiled.
“她的丈夫当然耸了耸肩，笑了笑。

“‘I am not joking,’ she said. ‘I tell you in earnest that I shall soon be dead.’
“我不是在开玩笑，”她说。“我告诉你，我很快就要死了。”

“‘What do you mean by soon?’
“你说的‘很快’是什么意思？”

“‘Directly after my confinement. I shall bear my child and die.’
“在我分娩后直接死去。我会生孩子然后死去。”

“The husband attached no significance to these words. —-
丈夫对这些话没有给予任何重视。 —-

He did not believe in presentiments of any sort, and he knew that ladies in an interesting condition are apt to be fanciful and to give way to gloomy ideas generally. —-
他不相信任何形式的预感，他知道处于有趣状态的女性往往会产生幻觉，并且总是倾向于消极的想法。 —-

A day later his wife spoke to him again of dying immediately after her confinement, and then every day she spoke of it and he laughed and called her a silly woman, a fortune-teller, a crazy creature. —-
一天后，妻子再次跟他说起分娩后立即死去的事情，然后每天都会提到，而他只是笑着骂她是个傻女人、算命者、疯狂的妖精。 —-

Her approaching death became an idée fixé with his wife. —-
妻子逐渐形成了一个不可改变的观念，她即将死去。 —-

When her husband would not listen to her she would go into the kitchen and talk of her death to the nurse and the cook.
当丈夫不愿听她说的时候，她会进入厨房，跟保姆和厨子谈论她的死亡。

“‘I haven’t long to live now, nurse,’ she would say. —-
““护士，我活不久了，”她会说。 —-

‘As soon as my confinement is over I shall die. —-
“分娩过后我就会死去。 —-

I did not want to die so early, but it seems it’s my fate.’
我本不想这么早就死去，但似乎这是我的命运。”

“The nurse and the cook were in tears, of course. —-
护士和厨子都哭了，当然。 —-

Sometimes the priest’s wife or some lady from a neighbouring estate would come and see her and she would take them aside and open her soul to them, always harping on the same subject, her approaching death. —-
有时候，牧师的妻子或者附近庄园的女士会来看她，她会把她们拉到一边，向她们倾诉她的内心，总是纠缠着同一个话题：她即将死去。 —-

She spoke gravely with an unpleasant smile, even with an angry face which would not allow any contradiction. —-
她严肃地说着，带着不愉快的微笑，甚至带着愤怒的表情，不允许任何反驳。 —-

She had been smart and fashionable in her dress, but now in view of her approaching death she became slovenly; —-
过去她的着装时髦而漂亮，但是现在，由于即将死去，她变得懒散了； —-

she did not read, she did not laugh, she did not dream aloud. —-
她没有阅读，没有笑，没有大声梦想。 —-

What was more she drove with her aunt to the cemetery and selected a spot for her tomb. —-
更重要的是，她和她的阿姨一起去了墓地，为她的墓地选择了一个地方。 —-

Five days before her confinement she made her will. —-
她在分娩前五天立下了遗嘱。 —-

And all this, bear in mind, was done in the best of health, without the faintest hint of illness or danger. —-
请记住，所有这一切都是在最良好的健康状态下完成的，没有丝毫疾病或危险的迹象。 —-

A confinement is a difficult affair and sometimes fatal, but in the case of which I am telling you every indication was favourable, and there was absolutely nothing to be afraid of. —-
分娩是一件困难的事情，有时会有生命危险，但在我所告诉你的这种情况下，一切迹象都是有利的，绝对没有什么可担心的。 —-

Her husband was sick of the whole business at last. —-
她的丈夫最终对整个事情感到厌烦。 —-

He lost his temper one day at dinner and asked her:
有一天在晚餐时，他发火了，问她：

“‘Listen, Natasha, when is there going to be an end of this silliness?’
“‘听着，娜塔莎，这疯狂的事情什么时候才能结束？’

“‘It’s not silliness, I am in earnest.’
“‘这不是疯狂，我是认真的。’

“‘Nonsense, I advise you to give over being silly that you may not feel ashamed of it afterwards.’
“‘胡说，我劝你别再傻了，免得事后感到羞愧。’

“Well, the confinement came. The husband got the very best midwife from the town. —-
“嗯，分娩来了。丈夫找来了镇上最好的助产士。 —-

It was his wife’s first confinement, but it could not have gone better. —-
这是他妻子的第一次分娩，但情况无法再好了。 —-

When it was all over she asked to look at her baby. She looked at it and said:
一切结束后，她要求看一下她的宝宝。她看着宝宝说：

“‘Well, now I can die.’
“‘嗯，现在我可以死了。’

“She said good-bye, shut her eyes, and half an hour later gave up her soul to God. She was fully conscious up to the last moment. —-
“她说了再见，闭上眼睛，半小时后把灵魂交给了上帝。直到最后一刻，她都完全清醒。 —-

Anyway when they gave her milk instead of water she whispered softly:
不过当他们给她牛奶而不是水时，她轻声低语道：

“‘Why are you giving me milk instead of water?’
“你为什么给我牛奶而不是水呢？”

“So that is what happened. She died as she predicted.”
“就是这样。她按预言的那样去世了。”

The examining magistrate paused, gave a sigh and said:
侦查法官停顿了一下，叹了口气，说：

“Come, explain why she died. I assure you on my honour, this is not invented, it’s a fact.”
“来吧，解释一下她为什么死了。我向您保证，这不是虚构的事，这是个事实。”

The doctor looked at the sky meditatively.
医生沉思地望着天空。

“You ought to have had an inquest on her,” he said.
“你应该对她进行调查，”他说。

“Why?”
“为什么？”

“Why, to find out the cause of her death. —-
“为什么呢？为了找出她死的原因。” —-

She didn’t die because she had predicted it. —-
她并不是因为预言而死的。 —-

She poisoned herself most probably.”
她很可能是自己下毒自杀的。

The examining magistrate turned quickly, facing the doctor, and screwing up his eyes, asked:
侦查法官迅速转过身，面对着医生，眯着眼睛问道：

“And from what do you conclude that she poisoned herself?”
“你是根据什么来得出她是自杀下毒的结论的？”

“I don’t conclude it, but I assume it. Was she on good terms with her husband?”
“我并不是得出结论，而是假设。她和丈夫关系好吗？”

“H’m, not altogether. There had been misunderstandings soon after their marriage. —-
“嗯，并不完全好。她们在结婚后不久就发生了误解。” —-

There were unfortunate circumstances. She had found her husband on one occasion with a lady. —-
有不幸的情况发生。她曾经在一次偶然间发现了她丈夫与一位女士在一起。 —-

She soon forgave him however.”
然而，她很快就原谅了他。

“And which came first, her husband’s infidelity or her idea of dying?”
“而究竟是她丈夫的背叛还是她想死的念头先出现？”

The examining magistrate looked attentively at the doctor as though he were trying to imagine why he put that question.
考察法官专注地看着医生，仿佛试图想象他为什么会问那个问题。

“Excuse me,” he said, not quite immediately. “Let me try and remember. —-
“对不起”，他并没有立即回答。“让我想一想。” —-

” The examining magistrate took off his hat and rubbed his forehead. “Yes, yes . . . —-
考察法官摘下帽子，揉了揉额头。“是的，是的…… —-

it was very shortly after that incident that she began talking of death. Yes, yes.”
就是在那件事之后不久，她开始谈论死亡。是的，是的。”

“Well, there, do you see? . . . In all probability it was at that time that she made up her mind to poison herself, but, as most likely she did not want to kill her child also, she put it off till after her confinement.”
“嗯，你看呢？很有可能当时她就下决心要自己下毒手了，但是，因为很可能她不想连孩子也杀掉，所以延迟到产后再行动。”

“Not likely, not likely! . . . it’s impossible. She forgave him at the time.”
“不太可能，不太可能！……那是不可能的。她当时就原谅了他。”

“That she forgave it quickly means that she had something bad in her mind. —-
“她原谅得很快，说明她脑子里想着什么坏主意了。 —-

Young wives do not forgive quickly.”
年轻的妻子不会那么快原谅的。

The examining magistrate gave a forced smile, and, to conceal his too noticeable agitation, began lighting a cigarette.
考察法官勉强笑了笑，为了掩饰自己过于明显的不安，开始点燃一支香烟。

“Not likely, not likely,” he went on. —-
“不太可能，不太可能，”他接着说。 —-

“No notion of anything of the sort being possible ever entered into my head. . . . And besides . —-
“我从来没有想过可能会有这种事发生……而且 —-

. . he was not so much to blame as it seems. . . . —-
他所承受的指责也没有看起来那么多…… —-

He was unfaithful to her in rather a queer way, with no desire to be; —-
他以一种相当特别的方式对她不忠，但并非出于自愿； —-

he came home at night somewhat elevated, wanted to make love to somebody, his wife was in an interesting condition . —-
他晚上回家的时候有点情绪高亢，想跟人做爱，可他的妻子正在一个有趣的状态中。 —-

. . then he came across a lady who had come to stay for three days—damnation take her— an empty-headed creature, silly and not good-looking. —-
后来他遇到了一个待三天的女人，可恨的是，这个毫无头脑的人，傻瓜而且不好看。 —-

It couldn’t be reckoned as an infidelity. —-
这不能算是一种不忠。 —-

His wife looked at it in that way herself and soon . . . —-
他妻子也是这么看待的，并很快. . .原谅了。 —-

forgave it. Nothing more was said about it. . . .”
关于这件事再也没有人提起过…”

“People don’t die without a reason,” said the doctor.
“人不会无缘无故地死去，”医生说。

“That is so, of course, but all the same . . . I cannot admit that she poisoned herself. —-
“当然，这是肯定的，但还是. . .我不能认同她是自己毒死的。 —-

But it is strange that the idea has never struck me before! And no one thought of it! —-
但奇怪的是，我以前从来没有想到过!而且没有人想到过! —-

Everyone was astonished that her prediction had come to pass, and the idea . . . —-
大家都惊讶于她的预言成真了，而那种死法. . . —-

of such a death was far from their mind. —-
远远不在他们的脑海中。 —-

And indeed, it cannot be that she poisoned herself! No!”
而且，她不可能自己下毒！不可能！”

The examining magistrate pondered. The thought of the woman who had died so strangely haunted him all through the inquest. —-
审讯法官思考着。这个以如此奇怪的方式去世的女人的想法让他一整个调查害怕。 —-

As he noted down what the doctor dictated to him he moved his eyebrows gloomily and rubbed his forehead.
当他记录了医生给他口授的话时，他阴郁地皱起了眉头，并摩擦着额头。

“And are there really poisons that kill one in a quarter of an hour, gradually, without any pain? —-
“难道真的有毒药能在一刻钟内就把人逐渐毒死，一点痛苦都没有吗？ —-

” he asked the doctor while the latter was opening the skull.
”他问医生，而医生正在打开颅骨。

“Yes, there are. Morphia for instance.”
“是的，有的。比如莫菲嗪。”

“H’m, strange. I remember she used to keep something of the sort . —-
“嗯，奇怪。我记得她过去有这种东西。” —-

. . . But it could hardly be.”
“但几乎不可能吧。”

On the way back the examining magistrate looked exhausted, he kept nervously biting his moustache, and was unwilling to talk.
在回去的路上，审判官看起来非常疲惫，不断咬着胡子，不愿意说话。

“Let us go a little way on foot,” he said to the doctor. “I am tired of sitting.”
“我们走一小段路吧，”他对医生说。 “我坐久了有点累了。”

After walking about a hundred paces, the examining magistrate seemed to the doctor to be overcome with fatigue, as though he had been climbing up a high mountain. —-
走了大约一百步后，审判官看起来对医生来说疲劳不堪，就像爬上一座高山一样。 —-

He stopped and, looking at the doctor with a strange look in his eyes, as though he were drunk, said:
他停下来，用一种怪异的眼神看着医生，好像喝醉了一样，说道：

“My God, if your theory is correct, why it’s. . . it was cruel, inhuman! —-
“天哪，如果你的理论是正确的，那就太残忍、太不人道了！ —-

She poisoned herself to punish some one else! Why, was the sin so great? Oh, my God! —-
她自己中毒以惩罚别人！为什么，罪恶有多大？哦，天哪！ —-

And why did you make me a present of this damnable idea, doctor!”
为什么你给了我这个该死的想法，医生？”

The examining magistrate clutched at his head in despair, and went on:
审判官绝望地抓住头，继续说道：

“What I have told you was about my own wife, about myself. Oh, my God! —-
“我告诉你的是关于我自己的妻子，关于我自己的事。哦，天哪！ —-

I was to blame, I wounded her, but can it have been easier to die than to forgive? —-
我有错，我伤害了她，但是死比原谅容易吗？ —-

That’s typical feminine logic—cruel, merciless logic. —-
那是典型的女性逻辑 – 残酷、无情的逻辑。 —-

Oh, even then when she was living she was cruel! —-
哦，即使在她活着的时候，她也很残忍！ —-

I recall it all now! It’s all clear to me now!”
我现在都记得了！现在对我来说一切都清楚了！

As the examining magistrate talked he shrugged his shoulders, then clutched at his head. —-
当审判官讲话时，他耸了耸肩，然后抓住了他的头。 —-

He got back into the carriage, then walked again. —-
他又回到了马车里，然后又走了起来。 —-

The new idea the doctor had imparted to him seemed to have overwhelmed him, to have poisoned him; —-
医生向他传授的新思想似乎让他不知所措，让他毒化了； —-

he was distracted, shattered in body and soul, and when he got back to the town he said good-bye to the doctor, declining to stay to dinner though he had promised the doctor the evening before to dine with him.
他分神了，身心俱疲，回到城里后，他告别了医生，虽然他前一天晚上答应了和医生一起吃晚饭，但他拒绝了。