IT was the benefit night of Fenogenov, the tragic actor. They were acting “Prince Serebryany. —
费诺根诺夫是悲剧演员，这是他的福利之夜。他们正在演“西列布尔公爵”。 —

” The tragedian himself was playing Vyazemsky; Limonadov, the stage manager, was playing Morozov; —
悲剧演员亲自出演维扎姆斯基；舞台经理利莫纳多夫扮演莫罗佐夫； —

Madame Beobahtov, Elena. The performance was a grand success. —
贝奥巴赫夫夫人埃琳娜出演。这场演出取得了巨大的成功。 —

The tragedian accomplished wonders indeed. —
悲剧演员的表演确实了不起。 —

When he was carrying off Elena, he held her in one hand above his head as he dashed across the stage. —
当他抱着埃琳娜离开时，他用一只手将她举过头顶，疾步穿过舞台。 —

He shouted, hissed, banged with his feet, tore his coat across his chest. —
他大声呼喊、嘘声、用脚猛击、撕裂胸前的外套。 —

When he refused to fight Morozov, he trembled all over as nobody ever trembles in reality, and gasped loudly. —
当他拒绝与莫罗佐夫交战时，他全身颤抖得没有人在现实中颤抖过，大声气喘。 —

The theatre shook with applause. There were endless calls. —
剧场震耳欲聋地响起掌声。观众们不停地呼喊。 —

Fenogenov was presented with a silver cigarette-case and a bouquet tied with long ribbons. —
费诺根诺夫收到了一只银烟盒和一束长丝带系着的花束。 —

The ladies waved their handkerchiefs and urged their men to applaud, many shed tears. —
女士们挥舞手绢，督促男士们鼓掌，不少人流泪。 —

… But the one who was the most enthusiastic and most excited was Masha, daughter of Sidoretsky the police captain. —
但最热情、最激动的是警长西多雷茨基的女儿玛莎。 —

She was sitting in the first row of the stalls beside her papa; —
她坐在包厢的第一排，旁边是她的爸爸； —

she was ecstatic and could not take her eyes off the stage even between the acts. —
她兴奋异常，哪怕在两个幕之间也无法移开目光。 —

Her delicate little hands and feet were quivering, her eyes were full of tears, her cheeks turned paler and paler. —
她纤细的双手和双脚颤抖着，眼睛充满泪水，脸颊变得越来越苍白。 —

And no wonder—she was at the theatre for the first time in her life.
难怪——这是她一生中第一次来到剧院。

“How well they act! how splendidly!” she said to her papa the police captain, every time the curtain fell. —
“他们演得多棒！多精彩！”她对警长爸爸说，每次幕落。 —

“How good Fenogenov is!”
“费诺根诺夫演得多棒！”

And if her papa had been capable of reading faces he would have read on his daughter’s pale little countenance a rapture that was almost anguish. —
如果她的爸爸能读懂脸上的表情，就会看到她苍白的小脸上满是几乎是痛苦的狂喜。 —

She was overcome by the acting, by the play, by the surroundings. —
她被演出、被剧情、被环境深深震撼。 —

When the regimental band began playing between the acts, she closed her eyes, exhausted.
当团的乐队在幕间休息演奏时，她疲倦地闭上了眼睛。

“Papa!” she said to the police captain during the last interval, “go behind the scenes and ask them all to dinner to-morrow!”
“爸爸！”她在最后的幕间休息时对警长说，“明天请他们都来吃饭吧！”

The police captain went behind the scenes, praised them for all their fine acting, and complimented Madame Beobahtov.
警长走到幕后，夸奖他们的出色表演，称赞贝奥巴特夫夫人。

“Your lovely face demands a canvas, and I only wish I could wield the brush!”
“你那美丽的脸庞值得被画成画，我只希望我能挥动画笔！”

And with a scrape, he thereupon invited the company to dinner.
然后他照单全收地邀请剧组来吃饭。

“All except the fair sex,” he whispered. —
“除了漂亮的女性，”他低声道。 —

“I don’t want the actresses, for I have a daughter.”
“我不想请女演员，因为我有一个女儿。”

Next day the actors dined at the police captain’s. —
第二天，演员们在警长家共进晚餐。 —

Only three turned up, the manager Limonadov, the tragedian Fenogenov, and the comic man Vodolazov; —
只有三位出席，经理利蒙那多夫、悲剧男演员费诺根诺夫和喜剧演员沃多拉佐夫； —

the others sent excuses. The dinner was a dull affair. —
其他人都给出了请假理由。晚餐无聊极了。 —

Limonadov kept telling the police captain how much he respected him, and how highly he thought of all persons in authority; —
利蒙那多夫一直告诉警长他是多么尊敬他，以及他有多看重所有当权者； —

Vodolazov mimicked drunken merchants and Armenians; —
Vodolazov模仿了喝醉的商人和亚美尼亚人; —

and Fenogenov (on his passport his name was Knish), a tall, stout Little Russian with black eyes and frowning brow, declaimed “At the portals of the great,” and “To be or not to be. —
而Fenogenov（护照上写着他的名字是Knish），一个身材高大的小俄罗斯人，黑眼睛，皱紧眉头，朗诵“在伟大的门廊前”，“生存还是毁灭”。 —

” Limonadov, with tears in his eyes, described his interview with the former Governor, General Kanyutchin. —
Limonadov眼含泪水，描述了他与前总督、将军卡纽钦的会面。 —

The police captain listened, was bored, and smiled affably. —
警长听着，感到厌烦，面带微笑。 —

He was well satisfied, although Limonadov smelt strongly of burnt feathers, and Fenogenov was wearing a hired dress coat and boots trodden down at heel. —
他感到很满意，尽管Limonadov身上有很重的烧焦羽毛味道，而Fenogenov则穿着一件租来的礼服和鞋跟磨损。 —

They pleased his daughter and made her lively, and that was enough for him. —
他们讨好了他的女儿，使她兴奋，那对他来说已足够了。 —

And Masha never took her eyes off the actors. —
玛莎一直没有移开视线。 —

She had never before seen such clever, exceptional people!
她从未见过如此聪明、出色的人！

In the evening the police captain and Masha were at the theatre again. —
晚上，警长和玛莎再次来到剧院。 —

A week later the actors dined at the police captain’s again, and after that came almost every day either to dinner or supper. —
一周后，演员们再次在警长家共进晚餐，之后几乎每天都要来吃晚饭或午饭。 —

Masha became more and more devoted to the theatre, and went there every evening.
玛莎对剧院越来越痴迷，每天晚上都去那里。

She fell in love with the tragedian. One fine morning, when the police captain had gone to meet the bishop, Masha ran away with Limonadov’s company and married her hero on the way. —
她爱上了悲剧演员。一个晴朗的早晨，当警长去迎接主教时，玛莎和Limonadov的剧团私奔了，途中与她的英雄结婚了。 —

After celebrating the wedding, the actors composed a long and touching letter and sent it to the police captain.
庆祝完婚礼后，演员们共同努力撰写了一封长篇感人的信，寄给了警长。

It was the work of their combined efforts.
这是他们合力的成果。

“Bring out the motive, the motive!” Limonadov kept saying as he dictated to the comic man. —
“表现出动机，动机！”Limonadov不断地对喜剧人说着，当他在口述时。 —

“Lay on the respect…. These official chaps like it. —
“表现出尊重吧…. 这些官员们喜欢这样。 —

Add something of a sort… to draw a tear.”
加点什么……让人动容的东西。”

The answer to this letter was most discomforting. —
对这封信的回复令人感到极不安。 —

The police captain disowned his daughter for marrying, as he said, “a stupid, idle Little Russian with no fixed home or occupation.”
警长因为女儿嫁给了一个他说：“一个无固定住所或职业的愚蠢懒散的小俄罗斯人”而断绝了父女关系。

And the day after this answer was received Masha was writing to her father.
在收到这个回复的第二天，玛莎给她父亲写信。

“Papa, he beats me! Forgive us!”
“爸爸，他打我！原谅我们！”

He had beaten her, beaten her behind the scenes, in the presence of Limonadov, the washerwoman, and two lighting men. —
他曾在幕后，当时有洗衣妇人Limonadov和两名灯光工在场，殴打过她。 —

He remembered how, four days before the wedding, he was sitting in the London Tavern with the whole company, and all were talking about Masha. The company were advising him to “chance it,” and Limonadov, with tears in his eyes urged: —
他记得四天前在伦敦酒馆和全体公司一起坐着的情景，大家都在谈论玛莎。公司建议他“冒险”，而Limonadov眼睛含泪地劝说： —

“It would be stupid and irrational to let slip such an opportunity! —
“错过这样的机会实在愚蠢又不理智！ —

Why, for a sum like that one would go to Siberia, let alone getting married! —
为了一笔那样的钱，人们会去西伯利亚，更不用说结婚了！ —

When you marry and have a theatre of your own, take me into your company. —
当你结婚并有了自己的剧院时，把我带进你的团队。 —

I shan’t be master then, you’ll be master.”
届时我就不是主人了，你才是主人。”

Fenogenov remembered it, and muttered with clenched fists:
费诺根诺夫记得这件事，并紧握拳头喃喃自语：

“If he doesn’t send money I’ll smash her! —
“如果他不寄钱，我会打碎她！ —

I won’t let myself be made a fool of, damn my soul!”
我不会让自己被愚弄，该死的！”

At one provincial town the company tried to give Masha the slip, but Masha found out, ran to the station, and got there when the second bell had rung and the actors had all taken their seats.
在一个省镇上，公司试图甩掉玛莎，但玛莎发现了，跑去车站，正好在第二铃响起时赶到，而演员们都已就座。

“I’ve been shamefully treated by your father,” said the tragedian; —
“你父亲对我可太不地道了，”悲剧演员说道； —

“all is over between us!”
“我们之间一切都结束了！”

And though the carriage was full of people, she went down on her knees and held out her hands, imploring him:
尽管马车里挤满了人，她跪下来伸出双手，恳求道：

“I love you! Don’t drive me away, Kondraty Ivanovitch,” she besought him. —
“我爱你！别把我赶走，孔德拉季·伊万诺维奇，”她哀求道。 —

“I can’t live without you!”
“没了你我活不下去！”

They listened to her entreaties, and after consulting together, took her into the company as a “countess”—the name they used for the minor actresses who usually came on to the stage in crowds or in dumb parts. —
他们听了她的请求后，商量了一下，将她加入公司当做“伯爵夫人”——他们给通常出现在人群或不说话角色中的小演员起的名字。 —

To begin with Masha used to play maid-servants and pages, but when Madame Beobahtov, the flower of Limonadov’s company, eloped, they made her ingenue. —
一开始玛莎演仆人和仆役，但当莱蒙那多夫的明星女演员贝娅霍特夫夫人私奔后，他们让她扮演少女。 —

She acted badly, lisped, and was nervous. —
她表演得很糟糕，口齿不清，而且紧张。 —

She soon grew used to it, however, and began to be liked by the audience. —
然而她很快适应了，开始受观众欢迎。 —

Fenogenov was much displeased.
费诺格诺夫感到很不满。

“To call her an actress!” he used to say. —
“称她演员！”他常说。 —

“She has no figure, no deportment, nothing whatever but silliness.”
“她没有身材，没有举止，除了愚蠢就一无所有。”

In one provincial town the company acted Schiller’s “Robbers. —
在一个省城，公司演出席勒的《强盗》。 —

” Fenogenov played Franz, Masha, Amalie. The tragedian shouted and quivered. —
费诺格诺夫饰演弗朗茨，玛莎饰演阿玛丽。悲剧男演员大声喊叫、颤抖着。 —

Masha repeated her part like a well-learnt lesson, and the play would have gone off as they generally did had it not been for a trifling mishap. —
玛莎像是背课文一样重复她的台词，戏剧一直进行得和往常一样，除非有一个微不足道的意外发生。 —

Everything went well up to the point where Franz declares his love for Amalie and she seizes his sword. —
一切都进行顺利，直到弗朗兹宣布爱上阿玛丽，并她抓起他的剑。 —

The tragedian shouted, hissed, quivered, and squeezed Masha in his iron embrace. —
悲剧演员尖叫，嘶嘶作响，颤抖着，用铁般的怀抱紧紧抱住了玛莎。 —

And Masha, instead of repulsing him and crying “Hence! —
而玛莎，没有驱逐他并喊“离开！”，却像只鸟一样在他怀里颤抖着，没有动弹。 —

” trembled in his arms like a bird and did not move,. —
她似乎被石化了。 —

.. she seemed petrified.
“求求你饶了我！”她在他耳边轻声说道。“哦，求求你饶了我！我太不幸了！”

“Have pity on me!” she whispered in his ear. “Oh, have pity on me! I am so miserable!”
她看起来像被吓呆了。

“You don’t know your part! Listen to the prompter! —
“你不知道你的台词！听提示者的话！” —

” hissed the tragedian, and he thrust his sword into her hand.
悲剧演员嘶声说道，并把剑插进她的手中。

After the performance, Limonadov and Fenogenov were sitting in the ticket box-office engaged in conversation.
在演出结束后，利蒙纳多夫和费诺根诺夫坐在票房里谈话。

“Your wife does not learn her part, you are right there,” the manager was saying. —
“你说得对，你的妻子不学习她的台词。”经理说道。 —

“She doesn’t know her line…. Every man has his own line,. —
“她不知道她的台词……每个人都有自己的台词， —

.. but she doesn’t know hers….”
……但她不知道自己的……”

Fenogenov listened, sighed, and scowled and scowled.
费诺根诺夫听着，叹了口气，皱着眉头。

Next morning, Masha was sitting in a little general shop writing:
第二天早上，玛莎坐在一家小百货店里写道：

“Papa, he beats me! Forgive us! Send us some money!”
“爸爸，他打我！原谅我们！寄点钱给我们！”