The first thing I did was to look at the clock as I entered the waiting-room of the station at Loubain, and I found that I had to wait two hours and ten minutes for the Paris express.
我刚进入鲁万火车站的候车室，就看了看钟表，发现我需要等待两个小时零十分钟才能乘坐巴黎快车。

I had walked twenty miles and felt suddenly tired.
我已经走了二十英里，突然感到累了。 —

Not seeing anything on the station walls to amuse me, I went outside and stood there racking my brains to think of something to do.
站墙上没有什么好玩的东西，于是我走出去站在外面，绞尽脑汁想些事情来做。 —

The street was a kind of boulevard, planted with acacias, and on either side a row of houses of varying shape and different styles of architecture, houses such as one only sees in a small town, and ascended a slight hill, at the extreme end of which there were some trees, as though it ended in a park.
那条街是一条种满了金合欢树的大道，两边是各种形状和风格的房子，这样的房子只有在小镇才能看到，大道上逐渐往上坡，最尽头有一些树，仿佛通向一个公园。

From time to time a cat crossed the street and jumped over the gutters carefully.
不时有猫穿过街道小心翼翼地跳过水沟。 —

A cur sniffed at every tree and hunted for scraps from the kitchens, but I did not see a single human being, and I felt listless and disheartened.
一只狗嗅着每棵树，寻找厨房里的剩饭，但我没有看到一个人，感到无精打采和沮丧。 —

What could I do with myself?
我能做些什么呢？ —

I was already thinking of the inevitable and interminable visit to the small cafe at the railway station, where I should have to sit over a glass of undrinkable beer and the illegible newspaper, when I saw a funeral procession coming out of a side street into the one in which I was, and the sight of the hearse was a relief to me.
我已经在思考着不可避免而无休止的前往火车站小咖啡馆的访问，那里我将不得不坐在一杯难以饮用的啤酒和模糊不清的报纸前。但当我看到送葬队伍从一条侧街走出来进入我所在的街道时，看到灵车我松了口气。 —

It would, at any rate, give me something to do for ten minutes.
无论如何，这至少能让我有十分钟的事情可做。

Suddenly, however, my curiosity was aroused.
突然，我的好奇心被勾起了。 —

The hearse was followed by eight gentlemen, one of whom was weeping, while the others were chatting together, but there was no priest, and I thought to myself:
灵车后面跟着八个绅士中的一个在哭泣，而其他人则在聊天，但却没有牧师。我心想：

“This is a non-religious funeral, ” and then I reflected that a town like Loubain must contain at least a hundred freethinkers, who would have made a point of making a manifestation.
“这是一个非宗教的葬礼”，然后我想到卢本镇一定有至少一百个自由思想者，他们会特意进行示威活动。 —

What could it be, then? The rapid pace of the procession clearly proved that the body was to be buried without ceremony, and, consequently, without the intervention of the Church.
那么，这是什么呢？队伍快速前进的步伐明确表明尸体将不会举行仪式安葬，因此也不需要教堂的介入。

My idle curiosity framed the most complicated surmises, and as the hearse passed me, a strange idea struck me, which was to follow it, with the eight gentlemen.
我的好奇心引出了最复杂的猜测，当灵车经过我身边时，一个奇怪的想法冒了出来，那就是跟随这八个绅士一起去。 —

That would take up my time for an hour, at least, and I accordingly walked with the others, with a sad look on my face, and, on seeing this, the two last turned round in surprise, and then spoke to each other in a low voice.
那至少得花费一个小时的时间，于是我与其他人一起走着，脸上带着悲伤的表情。看到这一幕，最后两个人惊讶地转过身，然后低声交谈起来。

No doubt they were asking each other whether I belonged to the town, and then they consulted the two in front of them, who stared at me in turn.
毫无疑问，他们在问彼此我是否属于这个城市，然后他们咨询前面的两个人，那两个人则依次盯着我看。 —

This close scrutiny annoyed me, and to put an end to it I went up to them, and, after bowing, I said:
这种近距离审视让我很烦恼，为了结束这种情况，我走到他们跟前，鞠了一躬，然后说道：

“I beg your pardon, gentlemen, for interrupting your conversation, but, seeing a civil funeral, I have followed it, although I did not know the deceased gentleman whom you are accompanying.”
“先生们，打扰了您们的交谈，见到这样的葬礼，我便跟随了过来，尽管我并不认识您们护送的这位已故先生。”

“It was a woman,” one of them said.
“那是一个女士，”其中一个人说道。

I was much surprised at hearing this, and asked:
听到这个我很吃惊，于是问道：

“But it is a civil funeral, is it not?”
“但这是一场民事葬礼，对吗？”

The other gentleman, who evidently wished to tell me all about it, then said: “Yes and no.
这位显然想告诉我一切的先生接着说道：“是也不是。” —

The clergy have refused to allow us the use of the church.”
教士们拒绝让我们使用教堂。”

On hearing this I uttered a prolonged “A-h!
听到这个我发出了一个长长的惊讶的“啊！ —

” of astonishment. I could not understand it at all, but my obliging neighbor continued:
”我完全无法理解，但是我的友善的邻居继续说道：

“It is rather a long story.
“这个年轻女子自杀了， —

This young woman committed suicide, and that is the reason why she cannot be buried with any religious ceremony.
这就是为什么她不能有任何宗教仪式的原因。 —

The gentleman who is walking first, and who is crying, is her husband.”
走在最前面、哭泣的那位是她的丈夫。”

I replied with some hesitation:
我有些犹豫地回答：

“You surprise and interest me very much, monsieur.
“您让我感到非常惊讶和感兴趣，先生。 —

Shall I be indiscreet if I ask you to tell me the facts of the case?
如果我问您这个事情的真相会不礼貌吗？ —

If I am troubling you, forget that I have said anything about the matter.”
如果我给您添麻烦了，请把我刚才提到的事情忘掉。”

The gentleman took my arm familiarly.
这位先生亲切地搀扶着我的胳膊。

“Not at all, not at all.
“完全没有，完全没有。 —

Let us linger a little behind the others, and I will tell it you, although it is a very sad story.
我们稍微落后其他人一点，我会告诉你，尽管这是个非常悲伤的故事。” —

We have plenty of time before getting to the cemetery, the trees of which you see up yonder, for it is a stiff pull up this hill.”
在我们到达坟墓之前，你看到那边的树，我们还有足够的时间，因为这个山坡很陡峭。

And he began:
然后他开始说：

“This young woman, Madame Paul Hamot, was the daughter of a wealthy merchant in the neighborhood, Monsieur Fontanelle.
“这位年轻女士，保罗·阿莫夫夫人，是附近一位富有的商人，封塔纳尔先生的女儿。 —

When she was a mere child of eleven, she had a shocking adventure;
当她只有11岁时，她经历了一次可怕的冒险； —

a footman attacked her and she nearly died.
一个仆人袭击了她，她差点丧命。 —

A terrible criminal case was the result, and the man was sentenced to penal servitude for life.
这件事引发了一起可怕的刑事案件，那个男人被判终身劳教。

“The little girl grew up, stigmatized by disgrace, isolated, without any companions;
“这个小女孩长大了，被耻辱所笼罩，孤立无援，没有任何伙伴； —

and grown-up people would scarcely kiss her, for they thought that they would soil their lips if they touched her forehead, and she became a sort of monster, a phenomenon to all the town.
成年人几乎不会亲吻她，因为他们觉得如果碰触她的额头就会弄脏自己的嘴唇，她成了一种怪物，成为这个城镇的奇迹。 —

People said to each other in a whisper: ‘You know, little Fontanelle,’ and everybody turned away in the streets when she passed.
人们低声对彼此说：“你知道，小封塔纳尔”，当她经过时，每个人都会转身离开。 —

Her parents could not even get a nurse to take her out for a walk, as the other servants held aloof from her, as if contact with her would poison everybody who came near her.
她的父母甚至无法找到一名护士带她出去散步，其他仆人都远离她，好像与她接触会让接近她的人都中毒一样。

“It was pitiable to see the poor child go and play every afternoon.
“看到这个可怜的孩子每天下午去玩真是令人心痛。 —

She remained quite by herself, standing by her maid and looking at the other children amusing themselves.
她仍然独自一人，站在她的女仆旁边，看着其他孩子自得其乐。 —

Sometimes, yielding to an irresistible desire to mix with the other children, she advanced timidly, with nervous gestures, and mingled with a group, with furtive steps, as if conscious of her own disgrace.
有时，她无法抵挡与其他孩子混在一起的强烈渴望，她带着胆怯的姿态，神经质地融入到一个小组中，偷偷摸摸地，好像意识到自己的耻辱。 —

And immediately the mothers, aunts and nurses would come running from every seat and take the children entrusted to their care by the hand and drag them brutally away.
瞬间，母亲们、阿姨们和保姆们从每个座位上跑过来，拉着他们照顾的孩子的手，粗暴地把他们拖走。

“Little Fontanelle remained isolated, wretched, without understanding what it meant, and then she began to cry, nearly heartbroken with grief, and then she used to run and hide her head in her nurse’s lap, sobbing.
“小芳塔内尔被孤立起来，痛苦不堪，不明白这意味着什么，然后她开始哭泣，几乎是心碎的痛苦，然后她跑去把头藏在她的保姆腿上，呜咽。

“As she grew up, it was worse still.
“随着她长大，情况变得更糟。 —

They kept the girls from her, as if she were stricken with the plague.
她们把其他女孩们远离她，就好像她得了瘟疫一样。 —

Remember that she had nothing to learn, nothing;
记住她没有什么需要学习的， —

that she no longer had the right to the symbolical wreath of orange-flowers;
什么都没有；她再也没有权利戴上象征性的橙花花环； —

that almost before she could read she had penetrated that redoubtable mystery which mothers scarcely allow their daughters to guess at, trembling as they enlighten them on the night of their marriage.
几乎在她能够阅读之前，她就揭开了那个令母亲们几乎不让女儿们窥探的可怕谜团，她们颤抖着在女儿们结婚之夜启发她们时才会透露的秘密。

“When she went through the streets, always accompanied by her governess, as if, her parents feared some fresh, terrible adventure, with her eyes cast down under the load of that mysterious disgrace which she felt was always weighing upon her, the other girls, who were not nearly so innocent as people thought, whispered and giggled as they looked at her knowingly, and immediately turned their heads absently, if she happened to look at them.
“当她走在街上时，总是由她的女教师陪同，好像她的父母害怕她遭遇一些新的恐怖冒险，她的眼睛下垂，背负着她感到一直压在她身上的那种神秘耻辱，那些其他女孩们，她们并没有人们认为的那么无辜，对她投来嘲笑和会心的眼神，如果她偶然看向她们，立刻转开视线装作漫不经心。 —

People scarcely greeted her; only a few men bowed to her, and the mothers pretended not to see her, while some young blackguards called her Madame Baptiste, after the name of the footman who had attacked her.
人们几乎没有和她打招呼，只有几个男人向她鞠躬，母亲们假装没看见她，一些年轻的无赖则称呼她为巴蒂斯特夫人，以攻击她的足夫的名字。

“Nobody knew the secret torture of her mind, for she hardly ever spoke, and never laughed, and her parents themselves appeared uncomfortable in her presence, as if they bore her a constant grudge for some irreparable fault.
“没有人知道她内心的秘密折磨，因为她几乎不说话，从不笑，她的父母在她面前也感到不舒服，仿佛对她怀有永恒的怨恨，好像她犯了不可挽回的错误。

“An honest man would not willingly give his hand to a liberated convict, would he, even if that convict were his own son?
“一个诚实的人不会愿意伸出手与一个被释放的罪犯握手，即使那个罪犯是他自己的儿子，不是吗？ —

And Monsieur and Madame Fontanelle looked on their daughter as they would have done on a son who had just been released from the hulks.
而方塔内尔先生和夫人则把他们的女儿视为刚从链球犯人中被释放的儿子。 —

She was pretty and pale, tall, slender, distinguished-looking, and she would have pleased me very much, monsieur, but for that unfortunate affair.
她很漂亮、苍白、高挑、苗条、有贵族气质，如果不是那次不幸的事件，她会很讨我喜欢的，先生。

“Well, when a new sub-prefect was appointed here, eighteen months ago, he brought his private secretary with him.
嗯，一年半前，当这里任命了一个新的副县长时，他带来了他的私人秘书。 —

He was a queer sort of fellow, who had lived in the Latin Quarter, it appears.
他是个很奇特的人，据说他曾住在拉丁区。 —

He saw Mademoiselle Fontanelle and fell in love with her, and when told of what occurred, he merely said:
他看见了芳塔内尔小姐并爱上了她，当听到所发生的事情时，他只是说：

“’Bah! That is just a guarantee for the future, and I would rather it should have happened before I married her than afterward.
“啧！这只是对未来的担保，我宁愿这种事发生在我娶她之前，而不是之后。 —

I shall live tranquilly with that woman.’
我将安宁地和那个女人一起生活。”

“He paid his addresses to her, asked for her hand and married her, and then, not being deficient in assurance, he paid wedding calls, as if nothing had happened.
他向她求亲，要求娶她，然后，由于他并不缺乏自信，他去拜访亲友，就像什么事都没有发生过一样。 —

Some people returned them, others did not; but, at last, the affair began to be forgotten, and she took her proper place in society.
有人回访，有人没有；但是，最后，这件事开始被遗忘，她在社会中找到了她应有的位置。

“She adored her husband as if he had been a god; for, you must remember, he had restored her to honor and to social life, had braved public opinion, faced insults, and, in a word, performed such a courageous act as few men would undertake, and she felt the most exalted and tender love for him.
“她崇拜她的丈夫，就像崇拜神一样；因为你必须记住，他把她恢复到了荣誉和社交生活中，他蔑视了公众的意见，面对了侮辱，总之，他做出了像很少有男人愿意承担的勇敢行动，她对他怀有最高贵和深切的爱。”

“When she became enceinte, and it was known, the most particular people and the greatest sticklers opened their doors to her, as if she had been definitely purified by maternity.
“当她怀孕并且众人皆知时，那些最过分挑剔的人和最严格的拘谨主义者向她敞开了大门，仿佛她已经因为怀孕而被纯洁定格。

“It is strange, but so it is, and thus everything was going on as well as possible until the other day, which was the feast of the patron saint of our town.
“这很奇怪，但事实就是如此，所以一切都一直很顺利，直到前几天，也就是我们镇上的守护圣人节那天。 —

The prefect, surrounded by his staff and the authorities, presided at the musical competition, and when he had finished his speech the distribution of medals began, which Paul Hamot, his private secretary, handed to those who were entitled to them.
总统，伴随着他的助手和一些官员们，在音乐比赛中担任主席。等他讲完了演讲，发放奖牌的仪式开始了，而这些奖牌是保罗·哈莫特，他的私人秘书，递给那些有资格获得奖牌的人的。

“As you know, there are always jealousies and rivalries, which make people forget all propriety.
“你们也知道，总会有嫉妒和争斗，让人们忘记了所有的适当。 —

All the ladies of the town were there on the platform, and, in his turn, the bandmaster from the village of Mourmillon came up.
镇上所有的女士们都坐在台上，接着是来自Mourmillon村庄的乐队指挥。 —

This band was only to receive a second-class medal, for one cannot give first-class medals to everybody, can one?
“这支乐队只能获得二等奖牌，因为不能给每个人都颁发一等奖牌，不是吗？ —

But when the private secretary handed him his badge, the man threw it in his face and exclaimed:
但当私人秘书递给他他的徽章时，那个人把它扔在他的脸上大喊道：

“’You may keep your medal for Baptiste.
“’你可以把你的奖章留给巴蒂斯特。 —

You owe him a first-class one, also, just as you do me.’
你欠他一个一等奖章，就像欠我一样。’

“There were a number of people there who began to laugh.
“那里有很多人开始笑了起来。 —

The common herd are neither charitable nor refined, and every eye was turned toward that poor lady.
普通庸俗的人既不慈善又不文雅，每个人的眼光都转向那个可怜的女人。 —

Have you ever seen a woman going mad, monsieur?
你见过妇女发疯吗，先生？呃， —

Well, we were present at the sight!
我们正在见证这一幕！ —

She got up and fell back on her chair three times in succession, as if she wished to make her escape, but saw that she could not make her way through the crowd, and then another voice in the crowd exclaimed:
她站起来又连续几次倒回到椅子上，仿佛想要逃跑，但看到自己无法在人群中穿过，然后人群中的另一个声音喊道：

“’Oh! Oh! Madame Baptiste!’
“’哦！哦！巴蒂斯特夫人！’

“And a great uproar, partly of laughter and partly of indignation, arose. The word was repeated over and over again;
一片喧嚣声，同时兼有笑声和愤怒声响起。这个词一次又一次地重复着； —

people stood on tiptoe to see the unhappy woman’s face;
人们站在脚尖上想看见这个不幸女子的脸； —

husbands lifted their wives up in their arms, so that they might see her, and people asked:
丈夫们把妻子抱起来，好让她们能看见，而人们问道：

“’Which is she? The one in blue?’
“‘哪一个是她？那个穿蓝色的？’

“The boys crowed like cocks, and laughter was heard all over the place.
“男孩们像公鸡一样啼叫，笑声响彻整个地方。”

“She did not move now on her state chair, but sat just as if she had been put there for the crowd to look at.
“她此刻不再移动在她的贵妃椅上，仿佛被放在那里供人围观。 —

She could not move, nor conceal herself, nor hide her face.
她无法移动，也无法隐瞒自己，无法掩饰她的脸。 —

Her eyelids blinked quickly, as if a vivid light were shining on them, and she breathed heavily, like a horse that is going up a steep hill, so that it almost broke one’s heart to see her.
她的眼皮快速眨动，仿佛有灿烂的光在照耀，而她呼吸急促，像匹爬上陡峭山坡的马，以至于看到她几乎令人心碎。 —

Meanwhile, however, Monsieur Hamot had seized the ruffian by the throat, and they were rolling on the ground together, amid a scene of indescribable confusion, and the ceremony was interrupted.
与此同时，阿莫特先生却扭住了那个恶棍的喉咙，他们纠缠在地上，一片难以形容的混乱之中，仪式被打断了。

“An hour later, as the Hamots were returning home, the young woman, who had not uttered a word since the insult, but who was trembling as if all her nerves had been set in motion by springs, suddenly sprang over the parapet of the bridge and threw herself into the river before her husband could prevent her.
“一个小时后，当哈莫家人返回家时，那位年轻女子自受辱后没有说过一句话，但她却颤抖得好像她所有的神经都被弹簧推动着。在丈夫还来不及阻止她的时候，她突然跳过桥的护栏，投身江中。” —

The water is very deep under the arches, and it was two hours before her body was recovered.
拱门下的水非常深，花了两个小时才找到她的尸体。当然， —

Of course, she was dead.”
她已经死了。

The narrator stopped and then added:
叙述者停下来，然后补充道：

“It was, perhaps, the best thing she could do under the circumstances.
“也许，在那种情况下，这是她能够做的最好的事情。” —

There are some things which cannot be wiped out, and now you understand why the clergy refused to have her taken into church. Ah!
有些事情是无法抹去的，现在你明白为什么神职人员不允许她进教堂了。啊！ —

If it had been a religious funeral the whole town would have been present, but you can understand that her suicide added to the other affair and made families abstain from attending her funeral;
如果是宗教葬礼，整个城镇都会到场，但你可以理解她的自杀事件加剧了其他事件，并使家庭不愿参加她的葬礼； —

and then, it is not an easy matter here to attend a funeral which is performed without religious rites.”
而且，在这里参加没有宗教仪式的葬礼并非易事。

We passed through the cemetery gates and I waited, much moved by what I had heard, until the coffin had been lowered into the grave, before I went up to the poor fellow who was sobbing violently, to press his hand warmly.
我们穿过墓地的大门，我感动得等到棺材被放入坟墓后，才上前握住那个哭得很厉害的可怜人的手，热情地握了一下。 —

He looked at me in surprise through his tears and then said:
他眼含泪水惊讶地看着我，然后说道：

“Thank you, monsieur.” And I was not sorry that I had followed the funeral.
“谢谢您，先生。”而我并不后悔我参加了葬礼。