I

|“WHAT shall I write?” said Yegor, and he dipped his pen in the ink.
“我应该写什么?”叶戈尔说着,把笔蘸进了墨水。

Vasilisa had not seen her daughter for four years. —
瓦西丽莎已经四年没有见到她的女儿了。 —

Her daughter Yefimya had gone after her wedding to Petersburg, had sent them two letters, and since then seemed to vanish out of their lives; —
她的女儿叶菲梅娅结婚后去了圣彼得堡,发来了两封信,之后好像就从他们的生活中消失了; —

there had been no sight nor sound of her. —
再也没有她的消息了。 —

And whether the old woman were milking her cow at dawn, or heating her stove, or dozing at night, she was always thinking of one and the same thing—what was happening to Yefimya, whether she were alive out yonder. —
不论老妇人是在清晨挤牛奶,还是烧炉子,或者在夜晚打盹,她的脑海里总是想着同一件事情——叶菲梅娅发生了什么事,她是否还活着。 —

She ought to have sent a letter, but the old father could not write, and there was no one to write.
她本该寄来一封信,但是老父亲不会写字,也没有人能写。

But now Christmas had come, and Vasilisa could not bear it any longer, and went to the tavern to Yegor, the brother of the innkeeper’s wife, who had sat in the tavern doing nothing ever since he came back from the army; —
但如今圣诞节到了,瓦西丽莎再也忍受不了,她来到了酒馆找了雅戈尔,酒馆老板的妻子的兄弟,自从退伍后,他就一直在酒馆里无所事事; —

people said that he could write letters very well if he were properly paid. —
人们说如果给他适当的报酬,他写信写得很好。 —

Vasilisa talked to the cook at the tavern, then to the mistress of the house, then to Yegor himself. —
瓦西丽莎先和酒馆的厨师谈了,然后和酒馆的女主人谈了,最后和雅戈尔本人谈了。 —

They agreed upon fifteen kopecks.
他们商定了十五戈比。

And now—it happened on the second day of the holidays, in the tavern kitchen—Yegor was sitting at the table, holding the pen in his hand. —
现在——这发生在节日期间的第二天,在酒馆的厨房里——雅戈尔坐在桌前,手里拿着笔。 —

Vasilisa was standing before him, pondering with an expression of anxiety and woe on her face. —
瓦西丽莎站在他面前,脸上带着焦虑和忧愁的表情。 —

Pyotr, her husband, a very thin old man with a brownish bald patch, had come with her; —
她的丈夫彼得,一个非常瘦的、有一块褐色秃顶的老人,陪着她来了; —

he stood looking straight before him like a blind man. —
他站在那里直勾勾地眺望,像个盲人一样。 —

On the stove a piece of pork was being braised in a saucepan; —
在炉子上,一块猪肉正在砂锅里被烹调; —

it was spurting and hissing, and seemed to be actually saying: —
它在嘶嘶作响,似乎实际上在说: —

“Flu-flu-flu.” It was stifling.
“呼呼呼。”这让人感到闷热。

“What am I to write?” Yegor asked again.
“我该写什么?”叶戈再次问道。

“What?” asked Vasilisa, looking at him angrily and suspiciously. “Don’t worry me! —
“什么?”瓦西莉萨生气地、怀疑地看着他。“不要打扰我! —

You are not writing for nothing; no fear, you’ll be paid for it. Come, write: —
你不会白写的;别担心,你会得到报酬的。来,写: —

‘To our dear son-in-law, Andrey Hrisanfitch, and to our only beloved daughter, Yefimya Petrovna, with our love we send a low bow and our parental blessing abiding for ever.’”
‘致我们亲爱的女婿安德烈·赫利松菲契和我们唯一心爱的女儿叶菲米娅·彼得罗芙娜,我们以爱心和父母的祝福,永远地致以最诚挚的问候,’”

“Written; fire away.”
“写吧;尽管开口。”

“‘And we wish them a happy Christmas; —
“‘我们祝他们圣诞快乐; —

we are alive and well, and I wish you the same, please the Lord… the Heavenly King.’”
我们健在,愿上帝保佑你同样…天国的王。’”

Vasilisa pondered and exchanged glances with the old man.
瓦西莉莎沉思着,与老人交换了一下眼神。

“‘And I wish you the same, please the Lord the Heavenly King,’” she repeated, beginning to cry.
“‘愿上帝保佑你同样…天国的王,’”她重复着,开始哭泣。

She could say nothing more. And yet before, when she lay awake thinking at night, it had seemed to her that she could not get all she had to say into a dozen letters. —
她说不出更多话。然而在之前,当她半夜醒来思索时,她觉得自己在十几封信里写不下她要说的一切。 —

Since the time when her daughter had gone away with her husband much water had flowed into the sea, the old people had lived feeling bereaved, and sighed heavily at night as though they had buried their daughter. —
自从她的女儿和女婿一起离去后,很多水流进了海,老人们一直感到悲痛,夜里沉重地叹息,仿佛他们已经埋葬了女儿。 —

And how many events had occurred in the village since then, how many marriages and deaths! —
自那时以来,村里发生了多少事件,多少婚嫁和丧事! —

How long the winters had been! How long the nights!
冬天多么漫长!夜晚多么长!

“It’s hot,” said Yegor, unbuttoning his waistcoat. —
“很热,”叶戈解开了他的马甲。 —

“It must be seventy degrees. What more?” he asked.
“可能有70度了。还要什么?”他问。

The old people were silent.
老人们沉默着。

“What does your son-in-law do in Petersburg?” asked Yegor.
“你女婿在圣彼得堡做什么呢?”叶戈问。

“He was a soldier, my good friend,” the old man answered in a weak voice. —
“他曾是一个士兵,我的好朋友,”老人虚弱地回答道。 —

“He left the service at the same time as you did. —
“他跟你一样在同一时间离开了部队。” —

He was a soldier, and now, to be sure, he is at Petersburg at a hydropathic establishment. —
他曾是一名士兵,现在,毫无疑问,他在彼得堡的一个水疗中心。 —

The doctor treats the sick with water. So he, to be sure, is house-porter at the doctor’s.”
医生用水疗法治疗病人。所以他,毫无疑问,是医生家的门房。

“Here it is written down,” said the old woman, taking a letter out of her pocket. —
“这里写着呢,”老妇人说着,从口袋里拿出一封信。 —

“We got it from Yefimya, goodness knows when. —
“我们是从叶菲米娅那里得到的,谁知道是什么时候呢。 —

Maybe they are no longer in this world.”
也许他们早已不在人世间。”

Yegor thought a little and began writing rapidly:
叶戈思索片刻,开始飞快地写道:

“At the present time”—he wrote—“since your destiny through your own doing allotted you to the Military Career, we counsel you to look into the Code of Disciplinary Offences and Fundamental Laws of the War Office, and you will see in that law the Civilization of the Officials of the War Office.”
“此刻”——他写道——“自从你的命运因自身行为而将你指向了军旅生涯,我们建议你查阅《纪律犯罪法典和战争部规定》中,你会在那个法律中看到战争部官员的文明。”

He wrote and kept reading aloud what was written, while Vasilisa considered what she ought to write: —
他写着,一边朗读着所写的内容,而瓦西莉萨在考虑自己应该写什么: —

how great had been their want the year before, how their corn had not lasted even till Christmas, how they had to sell their cow. —
他们去年的困境有多大,他们的粮食甚至不够过圣诞节,他们不得不卖掉奶牛。 —

She ought to ask for money, ought to write that the old father was often ailing and would soon no doubt give up his soul to God… but how to express this in words? —
她应该要求一些钱,应该写道老父亲经常生病,很快可能就会将灵魂交还给上帝…但如何用言语表达呢? —

What must be said first and what afterwards?
应该先说什么,后面又应该说什么呢?

“Take note,” Yegor went on writing, “in volume five of the Army Regulations soldier is a common noun and a proper one, a soldier of the first rank is called a general, and of the last a private….”
“请注意,” 叶戈继续写道,“在《军纪和战争部基本法律》的第五卷中,士兵是一个普通名词,也是一个专有名词,一级士兵被称为将军,最后一级则是列兵….”

The old man stirred his lips and said softly:
老人动了动嘴唇,轻声说道:

“It would be all right to have a look at the grandchildren.”
“有可能看一眼孙子辈就好了。”

“What grandchildren?” asked the old woman, and she looked angrily at him; —
“什么孙子辈?”老妇人问道,她看着他,眼神里带着愤怒; —

“perhaps there are none.”
“也许根本就没有。”

“Well, but perhaps there are. Who knows?”
“嗯,但也许有啊。谁知道呢?”

“And thereby you can judge,” Yegor hurried on, “what is the enemy without and what is the enemy within. —
“这样你就能判断,外部的敌人和内部的敌人是什么了。” —

The foremost of our enemies within is Bacchus. —
我们内部的首要敌人是酒神。 —

” The pen squeaked, executing upon the paper flourishes like fish-hooks. —
钢笔发出尖锐的声音,在纸上划出像鱼钩一样的花纹。 —

Yegor hastened and read over every line several times. —
叶戈匆匆忙忙地读过每一行好几遍。 —

He sat on a stool sprawling his broad feet under the table, well-fed, bursting with health, with a coarse animal face and a red bull neck. —
他坐在凳子上,把粗壮的双脚伸在桌子下,吃得饱饱的,身体壮实,粗犷的面孔和红通通的脖子。 —

He was vulgarity itself: coarse, conceited, invincible, proud of having been born and bred in a pot-house; —
他简直就是粗俗本身:粗鄙、自负、不可战胜,自豪自己生在酒馆中长在酒馆中; —

and Vasilisa quite understood the vulgarity, but could not express it in words, and could only look angrily and suspiciously at Yegor. Her head was beginning to ache, and her thoughts were in confusion from the sound of his voice and his unintelligible words, from the heat and the stuffiness, and she said nothing and thought nothing, but simply waited for him to finish scribbling. —
瓦西莉莎完全理解这种粗俗,但无法用言语表达,只能愤怒狐疑地看着叶戈。她开始头痛,他的声音和话语让她晕头转向,加上闷热,她只能等着他写完。 —

But the old man looked with full confidence. —
但老人充满信心。 —

He believed in his old woman who had brought him there, and in Yegor; —
他相信带他来这里的老太婆,也相信叶戈; —

and when he had mentioned the hydropathic establishment it could be seen that he believed in the establishment and the healing efficacy of water.
当他提到疗养院时,可以看出他相信疗养院和水的治疗效果。

Having finished the letter, Yegor got up and read the whole of it through from the beginning. The old man did not understand, but he nodded his head trustfully.
写完信后,叶戈站起来从头到尾读了一遍。老人看不懂,但信任地点点头。

“That’s all right; it is smooth…” he said. “God give you health. That’s all right….”
“没问题;很顺利……”他说。“愿上帝保佑你身体健康。没问题……”

They laid on the table three five-kopeck pieces and went out of the tavern; —
他们在桌子上放了三枚五戈比的硬币,走出了酒馆。 —

the old man looked immovably straight before him as though he were blind, and perfect trustfulness was written on his face; —
老人目不转睛地直视着前方,仿佛他是盲人,脸上写满了完全的信任; —

but as Vasilisa came out of the tavern she waved angrily at the dog, and said angrily:
但当瓦西丽莎走出酒馆时,她生气地朝着狗挥手,生气地说道:

“Ugh, the plague.”
“啊,瘟疫。”

The old woman did not sleep all night; she was disturbed by thoughts, and at daybreak she got up, said her prayers, and went to the station to send off the letter.
老妇人整夜未能入眠;她被烦扰着,天一亮就起身,念完祈祷,便去车站寄出信。

It was between eight and nine miles to the station.
距离车站有八至九英里。

II
II

Dr. B. O. Mozelweiser’s hydropathic establishment worked on New Year’s Day exactly as on ordinary days; —
B.O.莫赛威瑟医生的水疗中心在元旦这一天表现得像平常一样工作; —

the only difference was that the porter, Andrey Hrisanfitch, had on a uniform with new braiding, his boots had an extra polish, and he greeted every visitor with “A Happy New Year to you!”
唯一的区别是守门人安德烈·赫里桑菲奇穿着带有新装饰的制服,他的靴子擦得额外光亮,对每个来访者都说:“祝你新年快乐!”

It was the morning; Andrey Hrisanfitch was standing at the door, reading the newspaper. —
那天早晨;安德烈·赫里桑菲奇站在门口,正在看报纸。 —

Just at ten o’clock there arrived a general, one of the habitual visitors, and directly after him the postman; —
恰好在十点钟,一位将军,一位常客,到达了这里,紧随其后是邮递员; —

Andrey Hrisanfitch helped the general off with his great-coat, and said:
安德烈·赫里桑菲奇帮将军脱下大衣,说道:

“A Happy New Year to your Excellency!”
“阁下,新年快乐!”

“Thank you, my good fellow; the same to you.”
“谢谢你,好家伙;祝你也快乐。”

And at the top of the stairs the general asked, nodding towards the door (he asked the same question every day and always forgot the answer):
在楼梯顶端,将军指向门口问道(他每天都问同样的问题,而且总是忘记答案):

“And what is there in that room?”
“那个房间里有什么东西?”

“The massage room, your Excellency.”
“按摩室,阁下。”

When the general’s steps had died away Andrey Hrisanfitch looked at the post that had come, and found one addressed to himself. —
当将军的脚步声渐行渐远,安德烈·赫里桑菲奇看着送来的邮件,发现一封是写给他自己的。 —

He tore it open, read several lines, then, looking at the newspaper, he walked without haste to his own room, which was downstairs close by at the end of the passage. —
他撕开了信封,看了几行,然后看了看报纸,不着急地走向自己的房间,就在楼下走廊尽头的房间里。 —

His wife Yefimya was sitting on the bed, feeding her baby; —
他的妻子叶菲米娅坐在床上喂她的宝宝; —

another child, the eldest, was standing by, laying its curly head on her knee; —
另一个孩子,大儿子,站在她旁边,把卷曲的头放在她的膝盖上; —

a third was asleep on the bed.
第三个孩子在床上睡着了。

Going into the room, Andrey gave his wife the letter and said:
走进房间,安德烈把信交给妻子,说:

“From the country, I suppose.”
“乡下来的,我猜。”

Then he walked out again without taking his eyes from the paper. —
然后他又拿起报纸,目不转睛地看着。 —

He could hear Yefimya with a shaking voice reading the first lines. —
他听到叶菲米娅颤抖的声音读着开头几行。 —

She read them and could read no more; these lines were enough for her. —
她读着读着就止不住了,这几行已经足够让她感动。 —

She burst into tears, and hugging her eldest child, kissing him, she began saying—and it was hard to say whether she were laughing or crying:
她泣不成声,抱着大儿子亲吻他,开始说——很难说她是在笑还是在哭:

“It’s from granny, from grandfather,” she said. “From the country. —
“这是祖母写的,祖父写的,”她说,“从乡下来的。 —

… The Heavenly Mother, Saints and Martyrs! The snow lies heaped up under the roofs now. —
“天国的母亲啊,圣徒和烈士们!如今房顶下积了厚厚的雪。 —

.. the trees are as white as white. The boys slide on little sledges. —
“树都白得发亮。孩子们在小雪橇上滑来滑去。 —

.. and dear old bald grandfather is on the stove. —
.. 而亲爱的老秃顶祖父就在炉子上。 —

.. and there is a little yellow dog…. My own darlings!”
.. 还有一只小黄狗…. 我自己的宝贝们!”

Andrey Hrisanfitch, hearing this, recalled that his wife had on three or four occasions given him letters and asked him to send them to the country, but some important business had always prevented him; —
安德烈·赫里斯安菲奇听到这句话后想起他的妻子曾经给他几封信,让他带到乡下去,但总是有重要的事情阻碍他; —

he had not sent them, and the letters somehow got lost.
他没有寄出这些信,结果信件不知怎么消失了。

“And little hares run about in the fields,” Yefimya went on chanting, kissing her boy and shedding tears. —
“田野里有小野兔奔跑,”叶菲缪继续吟唱着,亲吻着他的孩子,眼泪流了下来。 —

“Grandfather is kind and gentle; granny is good, too—kind-hearted. —
“祖父慈祥而温和;奶奶也很好—善良。 —

They are warm-hearted in the country, they are God-fearing. —
他们在乡下待人热心,他们敬畏上帝。 —

.. and there is a little church in the village; the peasants sing in the choir. —
.. 村子里有座小教堂;村民们在唱诗班。 —

Queen of Heaven, Holy Mother and Defender, take us away from here!”
天上的圣母玛丽亚,请把我们从这里带走!”

Andrey Hrisanfitch returned to his room to smoke a little till there was another ring at the door, and Yefimya ceased speaking, subsided, and wiped her eyes, though her lips were still quivering. —
安德烈·赫里斯安菲奇回到自己的房间抽了一支烟,直到门又响了一下,这时叶菲缪停止了讲话,消失了,擦干了眼泪,虽然她的嘴唇还在颤抖。 —

She was very much frightened of him—oh, how frightened of him! —
她非常害怕他—哦,她有多害怕他! —

She trembled and was reduced to terror by the sound of his steps, by the look in his eyes, and dared not utter a word in his presence.
他的脚步声,他眼中的目光让她颤抖不已,她在他面前不敢开口说一句话。

Andrey Hrisanfitch lighted a cigarette, but at that very moment there was a ring from upstairs. —
安德烈·赫里斯安菲奇点燃了一支香烟,但就在那时楼上又传来了一声响铃。 —

He put out his cigarette, and, assuming a very grave face, hastened to his front door.
他熄灭了香烟,摆出一副非常严肃的表情,匆匆赶去门口。

The general was coming downstairs, fresh and rosy from his bath.
将军从楼上下来,由于刚洗完澡,面色红润。

“And what is there in that room?” he asked, pointing to a door.
“那个房间里有什么?”他指着一扇门问道。

Andrey Hrisanfitch put his hands down swiftly to the seams of his trousers, and pronounced loudly:
安德烈·赫里桑菲奇迅速将双手放到裤子的接缝处,大声说道:

“Charcot douche, your Excellency!”
“沐浴淋浴,阁下!”