At half past four in the morning，the travelers met in the courtyard of Hotel Normandie，where they were to take the carriage．
凌晨四点半，旅行者们在诺曼底酒店的庭院里会合，准备搭乘马车。

They were still full of sleep，and shivering with cold under their wraps． —
他们依然困意朦胧，裹着外套在寒冷中颤抖。 —

They could only see each other dimly in the obscure light，and the accumulation of heavy winter garments made them all resemble fat cu-rates in long cassocks． —
在朦胧的光线中，他们只能隐约看见彼此，厚重的冬装使他们看起来像是穿着长外袍的胖胖的教士。 —

Only two of the men were acquainted； —
只有两人彼此相识；另一个人走上前来， —

a third accosted them and they chatted： —
他们便开始闲聊： —

“I’m going to take my wife，” said one．“I too，”said another．“And I，”said the third． —
“我打算带上我的妻子，”一个人说。“我也是，”另一个人说。“我也一样， —

The first added：“We shall not return to Rouen，and if the Prussians approach Havre，we shall go over to England． —
”第三个人说。第一个人接着说：“我们不打算回鲁昂了，如果普鲁士人逼近哈弗，我们就跑到英格兰去。 —

”All had the same projects，being of the same mind．
”他们都有相同的计划，想法不谋而合。

As yet the horses were not harnessed．A little lantern，carried by a stable boy，went out one door from time to time，to immediately appear at another． —
马匹尚未套上马具。一个马厩男孩提着小灯笼不时从一扇门走出，立刻又出现在另一扇门。 —

The feet of the horses striking the floor could be heard，al－though deadened by the straw and litter，and the voice of a man talking to the beasts，sometimes swearing，came from the end of the building． —
马蹄踏击地面的声音被散落的稻草和垫料所减弱，还有一个人在建筑物的另一端对着这些动物说话，有时还夹杂着咒骂。 —

A light tinkling of bells announced that they were taking down the harness； —
铃铛清脆的叮当声宣告着他们正在取下马具； —

this murmur soon became a clear and continuous rhythm by the movement of the animal，stopping some－times，then breaking into a brusque shake which was accompanied by the dull stamp of a sabot upon the hard earth．
这种低语很快变成了一种清晰而连续的节奏，随着动物的移动，时而停顿，时而突然剧烈摇晃，伴随着硬土地上的木屐发出的沉闷响声。

The door suddenly closed．All noise ceased． —
门突然关上了。所有的噪音戛然而止。 —

The frozen citizens were silent； —
冰冻的市民们静了下来； —

they remained immovable and stiff．
他们保持不动，僵硬地站着。

A curtain of uninterrupted white flakes constantly sparkled in its descent to the ground． —
无尽的白色雪花如帘幕般持续地闪烁着，在下落至地面的途中。 —

It effaced forms，and powdered everything with a downy moss．And nothing could be heard in the great silence． —
它抹去了形态，给一切覆上了一层绒毛般的苔蔓。在这片巨大的寂静中， —

The town was calm，and buried under the wintry frost，as this fall of snow，unnamable and floating，a sensation rather than a sound（trembling atoms which only seem to fill all space），came to cover the earth．
什么声音也听不见。小镇平静而被冬日的寒霜所掩埋，此时这场雪，难以命名而飘渺，更似一种感觉而非声响（似乎充满了整个空间的颤动的微粒），正覆盖着大地。

The man reappeared with his lantern，pulling at the end of a rope a sad horse which would not come willingly． —
那人拎着灯笼再次出现，牵着一绳子的尽头，是一匹不情愿前行的悲哀马匹。 —

He placed him against the pole，fastened the traces，walked about a long time adjusting the harness，for he had the use of but one hand，the other carrying the lantern． —
他把它放在杆子旁，系好挽具，由于只能单手作业，他另一只手提着灯笼，他又走了很长时间去调整马具。当他去牵第二匹马时， —

As he went for the second horse，he noticed the travelers，motionless，already white with snow，and said to them： —
他注意到了旅客们，他们静止不动，已被雪花覆盖成了白色，并对他们说： —

“Why not get into the carriage？ —
“为什么不进马车里呢？ —

You will be under cover，at least．”
至少可以躲在遮盖下。”

They had evidently not thought of it，and they hastened to do so． —
显然他们之前没有想到这点，于是他们赶紧这么做了。 —

The three men installed their wives at the back and then followed them． —
三个男人安顿好他们的妻子在后边，然后跟了上去。 —

Then the other forms，undecided and veiled，took in their turn the last places without exchanging a word．
接着其他不确定且蒙面的身影依次而来，默不作声地占据了最后的位置。

The floor was covered with straw，in which the feet ensconced themselves． —
车厢地板上铺满了稻草，脚踏进去便深陷其间。 —

The ladies at the back having brought little copper foot stoves，with a carbon fire，lighted them and for some time，in low voices，enumerated the advantages of the appliances，repeating things that they had known for a long time．
坐在后面的女士们带来了小铜炉子，里面点着木炭火，她们一边点燃，一边用低声交谈着评述这些装置的优点，重复说起她们早已熟知的种种事情。

Finally，the carriage was harnessed with six horses instead of four． —
最终，马车配上了六匹马而不是四匹， —

because the traveling was very bad，and a voice called out：
因为路途非常艰难，一个声音喊道：

“Is everybody aboard？”
“大家都上车了吗？”

And a voice within answered：“Yes．”
车内有人应道：“好了。”

They were off．The carriage moved slowly，slowly for a little way．The wheels were imbedded in the snow； —
他们出发了。马车缓缓移动了一会儿。车轮埋在雪中； —

the whole body groaned with heavy cracking sounds； —
整个车身发出重重的嘎吱声；马儿闪耀着， —

the horses glistened，puffed，and smoked； —
喘气着，冒着烟； —

and the great whip of the driver snapped without ceasing，hovering about on all sides，knotting and unrolling itself like a thin serpent，lashing brusquely some horse on the rebound，which then put forth its most violent effort．
驾车人的长鞭不断挥舞，四处飞舞，像一条细小的蛇一样结着节、解开，然后突然粗暴地抽打着某匹反弹的马，马儿随即使出更加剧烈的努力。

Now the day was imperceptibly dawning．The light flakes，which one of the travelers，a Rouenese by birth，said looked like a shower of cotton，no longer fell． —
如今，天色不知不觉地亮了起来。之前一个出生在鲁昂的旅行者形容看起来像棉絮的轻飘飘的雪花不再飘落。 —

A faint light filtered through the great dull clouds，which rendered more brilliant the white of the fields，where appeared a line of great trees clothed in whiteness，or a chimney with a cap of snow．
薄暗的大云层透出微弱的光芒，让田野上的白色更加耀眼，一排大树披上了白雪的衣裳，或是一个烟囱顶戴着雪帽。

In the carriage，each looked at the others curiously，in the sad light of this dawn．
在马车里，每个人都在这悲伤的黎明之光中好奇地打量着彼此。

At the back，in the best places，Mr. Loiseau，wholesale merchant of wine，of Grand-Pont street，and Mrs. Loiseau were sleeping opposite each other． —
在后面最好的位置上，酒水批发商洛瓦索先生和洛瓦索夫人正对面睡着。洛瓦索先生购买了他那破产的前老板的生意， —

Loiseau had bought out his former patron who failed in business，and made his fortune．He sold bad wine at a good price to small retailers in the country and passed among his friends and acquaintances as a knavish wag，a true Norman full of deceit and joviality．
并由此发了财。他以高价将次品葡萄酒卖给乡下的小零售商，并在他的朋友和熟人中以狡猾的疯子、充满欺骗和快乐的真正的诺曼人而闻名。

His reputation as a sharper was so well established that one evening at the residence of the prefect，Mr. Tournel，author of some fables and songs，of keen，satirical mind，a local celebrity，having proposed to some ladies，who seemed to be getting a little sleepy，that they make up a game of“Loiseau tricks，the joke traversed the rooms of the prefect，reached those of the town，and then，in the months to come，made many a face in the province expand with laughter．
他的骗子名声是如此之大，以至于有一天晚上，在省长的宅邸里，一位名叫图内尔的人，他是当地的知名人物，作者，著有讽刺精神的寓言和歌曲，在几位似乎有点昏昏欲睡的女士提议他们玩一个“洛瓦索的诡计”的游戏之后，这个笑话传遍了省长宅邸的房间，接着传到了整个城市，然后，在未来的几个月里，让省里许多人的脸上充满了笑容。

Loiseau was especially known for his love of farce of every kind，for his jokes，good and bad； —
洛瓦索因为他对各种滑稽戏的热爱而特别出名，他的笑话，不论好坏； —

and no one could ever talk with him without thinking： —
和他交谈的人无不想：“这个洛瓦索，真是无价之宝。 —

“He is in－valuable，this Loiseau．”Of tall figure，his balloon－shaped front was surmounted by a ruddy face surrounded by gray whiskers．
”他高大的身材，上面是一个气球形的腹部，上面又是一个红润的脸庞，周围是一圈灰色的络腮胡子。

His wife，large，strong，and resolute，with a quick，decisive manner was the order and arithmetic of this house of commerce，while he was the life of it through his joyous activity．
他的妻子既高大、强壮又坚决，带着迅捷、果断的举止，是这个商行里的秩序和算术，而他则通过其欢快的活力成为了其生命力。

Beside them，Mr. Carré-Lamadon held himself with great dignity，as if belonging to a superior caste；a considerable man，in cottons，proprietor of three mills，officer of the Legion of Honor，and member of the General Council．He had remained，during the Empire，chief of the friendly opposition，famous for making the Emperor pay dearer for rallying to the cause than if he had combated it with blunted arms，according to his own story．Madame Carré-Lamadon，much younger than her husband，was the consolation of officers of good family sent to Rouen in garrison． —
旁边，卡雷-拉马东先生保持着极高的尊严，仿若自属于更高的种姓；一位相当重要的人物，身穿棉衣，拥有三座工厂，是荣誉军团勋章官员，同时也是省议会的成员。在帝政时期，他始终是友好反对派的领头人，以让皇帝为拉拢他而付出比他用钝刀作战还要昂贵的代价而闻名，至少按照他自己的说法。卡雷-拉马东夫人比她的丈夫年轻许多，是派驻鲁昂的优秀家族军官的慰藉。 —

She sat opposite her husband，very dainty，petite，and pretty，wrapped closely in furs and looking with sad eyes at the interior of the carriage．
她坐在丈夫对面，非常精致小巧，漂亮，紧裹着皮草，用忧伤的双眼望着马车的内饰。

Her neighbors，the Count and Countess Hubert de Breville，bore the name of one of the most ancient and noble families of Normandy． —
她的邻居，休伯特·德·布雷维尔伯爵和伯爵夫人，拥有诺曼底最古老和最高贵家族之一的姓名。 —

The Count，an old gentle-man of good figure，accentuated，by the artifices of his toilette，his resemblance to King Henry IV．，who，following a glorious legend of the family，had impregnated one of the De Breville ladies，whose husband，for this reason，was made a count and governor of the province．
这位伯爵，一个风度翩翩的老绅士，通过他的打扮艺术，强化了他与法国国王亨利四世的相似之处，根据家族中一个辉煌的传说，这位国王使得布雷维尔家族的一位女士怀孕，因此，她的丈夫被封为伯爵，并成为该省的总督。