HOW HE GOT THE LEGION OF HONOR
他是如何获得荣誉军团勋章的？

From the time some people begin to talk they seem to have an overmastering desire or vocation.
一些人从开始说话的时候就似乎有一个无法抗拒的渴望或志愿。

Ever since he was a child, M. Caillard had only had one idea in his head —to wear the ribbon of an order.
卡耶尔先生从小就只有一个念头——戴上一枚勋章的绶带。 —

When he was still quite a small boy he used to wear a zinc cross of the Legion of Honor pinned on his tunic, just as other children wear a soldier’s cap, and he took his mother’s hand in the street with a proud air, sticking out his little chest with its red ribbon and metal star so that it might show to advantage.
在他还是个小男孩的时候，他常常在短装上别着一枚铝制的荣誉军团十字架，就像其他孩子戴士兵帽一样，并且他挺着他带有红色绶带和金属星星的小胸膛自豪地拉着他妈妈的手在街上走，好让这些奖章能够显眼。

His studies were not a success, and he failed in his examination for Bachelor of Arts;
他的学习成绩不好，他在文学学士考试中失败了； —

so, not knowing what to do, he married a pretty girl, as he had plenty of money of his own.
所以，在不知该做什么的情况下，他娶了一个漂亮的女孩，因为他自己有很多钱。

They lived in Paris, as many rich middle-class people do, mixing with their own particular set, and proud of knowing a deputy, who might perhaps be a minister some day, and counting two heads of departments among their friends.
他们住在巴黎，就像许多富裕的中产阶级人一样，与自己特定的圈子交往，并为能认识一名有可能成为部长的代表和两个部门负责人而自豪地数着朋友。

But M. Caillard could not get rid of his one absorbing idea, and he felt constantly unhappy because he had not the right to wear a little bit of colored ribbon in his buttonhole.
但是，卡伊亚尔迟迟无法摆脱他那一个执念，由于他没有权利在钮扣孔上佩戴一小块彩色丝带，他常常感到不快乐。

When he met any men who were decorated on the boulevards, he looked at them askance, with intense jealousy.
当他在林荫大道上遇到任何佩戴勋章的人时，他嫉妒地斜视着他们。 —

Sometimes, when he had nothing to do in the afternoon, he would count them, and say to himself:
有时候，下午无事可做时，他会开始数数，自言自语地说： —

“Just let me see how many I shall meet between the Madeleine and the Rue Drouot.”
“让我看看在马德莱娜广场和德鲁街之间会遇到多少人。”

Then he would walk slowly, looking at every coat with a practiced eye for the little bit of red ribbon, and when he had got to the end of his walk he always repeated the numbers aloud.
然后他会慢慢地走，用一个训练有素的眼光看着每一件外套上的一小块红丝带，当他走到目的地时，他总是大声地重复数字。

“Eight officers and seventeen knights. As many as that!
“八个军官和十七个骑士。这么多！ —

It is stupid to sow the cross broadcast in that fashion.
把十字勋章这样随意地播种出去真是愚蠢。” —

I wonder how many I shall meet going back?”
“我想知道我回去的时候会遇到多少人？”

And he returned slowly, unhappy when the crowd of passers-by interfered with his vision.
当行人群拥塞妨碍他的视线时，他慢慢地返回，感到不快乐。

He knew the places where most were to be found.
他知道大多数人最常出没的地方。 —

They swarmed in the Palais Royal. Fewer were seen in the Avenue de l’Opera than in the Rue de la Paix, while the right side of the boulevard was more frequented by them than the left.
他们云集在皇家宫殿。在歌剧院大道上看到的人较少，与在和平街上相比，而大道的右侧比左侧更受他们的喜爱。

They also seemed to prefer certain cafes and theatres.
他们似乎也更偏爱某些咖啡馆和剧院。 —

Whenever he saw a group of white-haired old gentlemen standing together in the middle of the pavement, interfering with the traffic, he used to say to himself:
每当他看到一群白发苍苍的老绅士站在人行道中央，妨碍交通时，他会自言自语地说：

“They are officers of the Legion of Honor, ” and he felt inclined to take off his hat to them.
“他们是荣誉军团的军官们，” 他有冲动要向他们脱帽致意。

He had often remarked that the officers had a different bearing to the mere knights.
他经常注意到军官们与普通骑士的举止不同。 —

They carried their head differently, and one felt that they enjoyed a higher official consideration and a more widely extended importance.
他们昂首挺胸，感觉到他们享受着更高级的官方待遇和更广泛的重要性。

Sometimes, however, the worthy man would be seized with a furious hatred for every one who was decorated;
但有时，这个可敬的人会对每一个佩戴勋章的人充满狂热的仇恨。 —

he felt like a Socialist toward them.
他对他们感觉就像社会主义者一样。

Then, when he got home, excited at meeting so many crosses—just as a poor, hungry wretch might be on passing some dainty provision shop—he used to ask in a loud voice:
然后，当他回到家时，因为见到了这么多华丽的十字架而感到兴奋——就像一个贫穷饥饿的可怜人在经过一家美食店时会感到兴奋一样——他会大声问道：

“When shall we get rid of this wretched government?”
“我们什么时候才能摆脱这个可怜的政府？”

And his wife would be surprised, and ask:
他的妻子会感到惊讶，问道：

“What is the matter with you to-day?”
“今天你怎么了？”

“I am indignant,” he replied, “at the injustice I see going on around us. Oh, the Communards were certainly right!”
“我感到愤怒，”他回答说，“对我所看到的不公正感到愤慨。哦，那些共和党人肯定是对的！”

After dinner he would go out again and look at the shops where the decorations were sold, and he examined all the emblems of various shapes and colors.
晚饭后，他再次出去看卖装饰品的商店，他仔细查看了各种形状和颜色的标志。他想拥有它们全部， —

He would have liked to possess them all, and to have walked gravely at the head of a procession, with his crush hat under his arm and his breast covered with decorations, radiant as a star, amid a buzz of admiring whispers and a hum of respect.
并且希望能够庄重地走在一次游行的前列，胸前佩戴着装饰，头戴着一个被摧毁的帽子，如同一颗照耀的星星，在令人敬佩的低语和尊敬的嗡嗡声中闪耀。

But, alas! he had no right to wear any decoration whatever.
但是，唉！他没有权利戴任何装饰。

He used to say to himself:
他曾经对自己说： —

“It is really too difficult for any man to obtain the Legion of Honor unless he is some public functionary.
“除非是一些公职人员，任何人要想获得荣誉军团勋章真的太难了。” —

Suppose I try to be appointed an officer of the Academy!”
假设我试着被任命为学院的官员！”

But he did not know how to set about it, and spoke on the subject to his wife, who was stupefied.
但是他不知道该如何着手，于是向他的妻子谈起这个话题，妻子感到惊讶。

“Officer of the Academy!
“学院的官员！ —

What have you done to deserve it?”
你做了什么值得得到这个职位？”

He got angry. “I know what I am talking about.
他生气了。“我知道自己在说什么。 —

I only want to know how to set about it.
我只是想知道该如何着手。 —

You are quite stupid at times.”
你有时候真是笨。”

She smiled. “You are quite right.
她微笑着说：“你说得对。 —

I don’t understand anything about it.”
我对此一无所知。”

An idea struck him: “Suppose you were to speak to M. Rosselin, the deputy; he might be able to advise me.
他有了个主意：“假设你找一下Rosselin先生，那个议员，他或许能给我一些建议。 —

You understand I cannot broach the subject to him directly.
你明白，我不能直接向他提这个问题。 —

It is rather difficult and delicate, but coming from you it might seem quite natural.”
这有点困难和棘手，但是从你那里来的话，可能看起来很自然。”

Mme. Caillard did what he asked her, and M. Rosselin promised to speak to the minister about it;
妻子按照他的要求去做了，并且Rosselin先生答应会和部长谈谈这件事； —

and then Caillard began to worry him, till the deputy told him he must make a formal application and put forward his claims.
接着Caillard开始使他担心起来，直到那位代表告诉他必须正式申请并提出他的主张。

“What were his charms?” he said.
“他有什么魅力？”他说， —

“He was not even a Bachelor of Arts.” However, he set to work and produced a pamphlet, with the title, “The People’s Right to Instruction, ” but he could not finish it for want of ideas.
“他甚至连文学学士都不是。”然而，他开始着手撰写一本小册子，标题为“人民对教育的权利”，但由于思路不清晰，他没能完成。

He sought for easier subjects, and began several in succession.
他寻找更容易的题材，并陆续开始了几个项目。 —

The first was, “The Instruction of Children by Means of the Eye.” He wanted gratuitous theatres to be established in every poor quarter of Paris for little children.
“利用视觉给儿童教育”的第一个项目。他希望在巴黎每个贫民区建立免费剧院供幼儿观看。 —

Their parents were to take them there when they were quite young, and, by means of a magic lantern, all the notions of human knowledge were to be imparted to them.
他们的父母应该在他们还很小的时候带他们去那里，通过幻灯片，将人类知识的各种概念传授给他们。 —

There were to be regular courses.
这个课程会定期进行。 —

The sight would educate the mind, while the pictures would remain impressed on the brain, and thus science would, so to say, be made visible.
视觉将培养思维，而图片将留存在大脑中，这样科学就可以说是被可视化了。 —

What could be more simple than to teach universal history, natural history, geography, botany, zoology, anatomy, etc., etc., in this manner?
有什么比以这种方式教授普遍历史、自然历史、地理学、植物学、动物学、解剖学等更简单的呢？

He had his ideas printed in pamphlets, and sent a copy to each deputy, ten to each minister, fifty to the President of the Republic, ten to each Parisian, and five to each provincial newspaper.
他将自己的想法印成小册子，每个代表都寄送一份，每个部长寄送10份，每个共和国总统寄送50份，每个巴黎人寄送10份，每个地方报纸寄送5份。

Then he wrote on “Street Lending-Libraries.
然后他写了一篇关于“街头借书馆”的文章。 —

” His idea was to have little pushcarts full of books drawn about the streets.
他的想法是让满是书籍的小推车在街上行驶。 —

Everyone would have a right to ten volumes a month in his home on payment of one sou.
每个人只需支付一便士，就有权在家里借阅十本书籍。

“The people,” M. Caillard said, “will only disturb itself for the sake of its pleasures, and since it will not go to instruction, instruction must come to it,” etc., etc.
“人民”，卡耶尔先生说，“只会为了享乐而操心，既然人民不会为了教育而自愿前往，那么教育就要主动接近他们。”等等。

His essays attracted no attention, but he sent in his application, and he got the usual formal official reply.
尽管他的论文没有引起注意，但他还是提交了申请，并收到了一封正式的官方回复。 —

He thought himself sure of success, but nothing came of it.
他认为自己一定会成功，但事情却毫无进展。

Then he made up his mind to apply personally.
然后他决定亲自申请。 —

He begged for an interview with the Minister of Public Instruction, and he was received by a young subordinate, who was very grave and important, and kept touching the knobs of electric bells to summon ushers, and footmen, and officials inferior to himself.
他请求和教育部长进行面试，而他被一个年轻的下属接待了。这位下属十分严肃而重要，不断触摸电铃开关来召唤侍者、仆人和他的下属们。 —

He declared to M. Caillard that his matter was going on quite favorably, and advised him to continue his remarkable labors, and M. Caillard set at it again.
他告诉卡亚尔先生他的事情进展顺利，并建议他继续他那引人注目的工作，而卡亚尔先生开始继续努力。

M. Rosselin, the deputy, seemed now to take a great interest in his success, and gave him a lot of excellent, practical advice.
罗塞兰先生，这名国会议员，似乎对他的成功非常感兴趣，并给了他很多出色的实用建议。 —

He, himself, was decorated, although nobody knew exactly what he had done to deserve such a distinction.
他自己也获得了勋章，尽管没有人确切知道他到底做了什么来获得这样的荣誉。

He told Caillard what new studies he ought to undertake;
他告诉卡亚尔先生应该进行哪些新的研究， —

he introduced him to learned societies which took up particularly obscure points of science, in the hope of gaining credit and honors thereby;
他介绍他加入了那些专门研究科学中晦涩问题的协会，希望能够通过此获得声誉和荣誉； —

and he even took him under his wing at the ministry.
甚至在教育部门亲自指导他。

One day, when he came to lunch with his friend—for several months past he had constantly taken his meals there—he said to him in a whisper as he shook hands:
一、一天，当他与朋友一起吃午饭时——过去几个月他总是在那儿吃饭——他握手时轻声对他说道： —

“I have just obtained a great favor for you.
二、“我刚刚为你争取到了一项重要任务。 —

The Committee of Historical Works is going to intrust you with a commission.
历史作品委员会将委托你进行一次调查研究。 —

There are some researches to be made in various libraries in France.”
三、法国的各个图书馆都有一些研究需要开展。”

Caillard was so delighted that he could scarcely eat or drink, and a week later he set out.
四、Caillard高兴得几乎无法吃喝，一周后他就出发了。 —

He went from town to town, studying catalogues, rummaging in lofts full of dusty volumes, and was hated by all the librarians.
五、他走遍了城市，研究目录，翻找堆满尘土的阁楼中的卷轴，因此被所有图书管理员嫉恨。

One day, happening to be at Rouen, he thought he should like to go and visit his wife, whom he had not seen for more than a week, so he took the nine o’clock train, which would land him at home by twelve at night.
六、一天，他恰巧在鲁昂，他想去拜访他的妻子，已经一个多星期没见了，所以他坐了九点的火车，预计午夜十二点前能回家。

He had his latchkey, so he went in without making any noise, delighted at the idea of the surprise he was going to give her.
七、他有自己的钥匙，所以他不发出任何声音就走了进去，高兴地想着自己即将给她带来的惊喜。 —

She had locked herself in. How tiresome!
她把自己关在门里。真让人厌烦！ —

However, he cried out through the door:
然而，他大声喊道：

“Jeanne, it is I!”
“简，是我！”

She must have been very frightened, for he heard her jump out of her bed and speak to herself, as if she were in a dream.
她一定非常害怕，因为他听到她从床上跳了起来，像在做梦一样自言自语。 —

Then she went to her dressing room, opened and closed the door, and went quickly up and down her room barefoot two or three times, shaking the furniture till the vases and glasses sounded.
然后她去了她的化妆室，打开又关闭了门，然后赤脚在房间里快速走来走去两三次，把家具晃得花瓶和玻璃发出声音。 —

Then at last she asked:
然后最后她问道：

“Is it you, Alexander?”
“是你，亚历山大吗？”

“Yes, yes,” he replied;
“是的，是的，”他回答道， —

“make haste and open the door.”
“快点开门。”

As soon as she had done so, she threw herself into his arms, exclaiming:
她一开门，就扑进了他的怀里，喊道：

“Oh, what a fright! What a surprise! What a pleasure!”
“哦，吓死我了！太惊讶了！太高兴了！”

He began to undress himself methodically, as he did everything, and took from a chair his overcoat, which he was in the habit of hanging up in the hall.
他开始有条不紊地脱衣服，就像他做所有事情一样，从椅子上拿起了他通常挂在大厅的外衣。 —

But suddenly he remained motionless, struck dumb with astonishment—there was a red ribbon in the buttonhole:
但突然间，他呆住了，惊讶得说不出话来——纽扣孔上别着一根红丝带。

“Why,” he stammered, “this—this—this overcoat has got the ribbon in it!”
“为什么，”他结结巴巴地说，“这个——这个——这个大衣里面竟然有丝带！”

In a second, his wife threw herself on him, and, taking it from his hands, she said:
在一秒钟之内，他的妻子扑到他身上，从他手中夺下大衣，然后说道：

“No! you have made a mistake—give it to me.”
“不！你搞错了——给我。”

But he still held it by one of the sleeves, without letting it go, repeating in a half-dazed manner:
但他仍然用一个袖子抓住它，没有放手，半迷糊地重复着：

“Oh! Why? Just explain—Whose overcoat is it?
“哦！为什么？解释一下——这是谁的大衣？ —

It is not mine, as it has the Legion of Honor on it.”
不是我的，因为上面有荣誉军团勋章。”

She tried to take it from him, terrified and hardly able to say:
她试图从他手中夺走它，又害怕又难以说话地说道：

“Listen—listen! Give it to me!
“听我说——听我说！给我！ —

I must not tell you! It is a secret.
我不能告诉你！这是个秘密。 —

Listen to me!”
听我说！”

But he grew angry and turned pale.
但他愤怒了，脸色变得苍白。

“I want to know how this overcoat comes to be here?
“我想知道这个大衣为什么会在这里？ —

It does not belong to me.”
它不属于我。”

Then she almost screamed at him:
然后她几乎对他尖叫起来：

“Yes, it does; listen! Swear to me—well—you are decorated!”
“是的，属于你；听我说！发誓给我——好吗——你被授勋了！”

She did not intend to joke at his expense.
她不是想拿他开玩笑。

He was so overcome that he let the overcoat fall and dropped into an armchair.
他被深深震撼，让大衣掉落，并坐到了一张扶手椅上。

“I am—you say I am—decorated?”
“我是——你说我是——被授勋了？”

“Yes, but it is a secret, a great secret.”
“是的，但这是个秘密，一个重要的秘密。”

She had put the glorious garment into a cupboard, and came to her husband pale and trembling.
她把那件华丽的服装放进了衣橱，脸色苍白颤抖地走到丈夫面前。

“Yes,” she continued, “it is a new overcoat that I have had made for you.
她接着说：“是的，这是我为你订做的一件新大衣。” —

But I swore that I would not tell you anything about it, as it will not be officially announced for a month or six weeks, and you were not to have known till your return from your business journey.
但我发誓不告诉你任何事情，因为这个消息将在一个月或六周后正式公布，而你在商务旅行归来后才能知道。 —

M. Rosselin managed it for you.”
罗素兰为你办好了这个事。

“Rosselin!” he contrived to utter in his joy.
“罗素兰！”他喜悦地说道。 —

“He has obtained the decoration for me?
“他给我争取到了这个荣誉？他-哦！ —

He—Oh!”
”

And he was obliged to drink a glass of water.
他只得喝下一杯水。

A little piece of white paper fell to the floor out of the pocket of the overcoat.
大衣口袋里掉出了一小张白纸。卡耶拾起来，发现是一张名片， —

Caillard picked it up; it was a visiting card, and he read out:
上面写着：“罗素兰-国会议员。”

“Rosselin-Deputy.”
“你看是怎么回事。”他的妻子说道。

“You see how it is,” said his wife.
他几乎高兴得要哭了，一周后，《法国官报》宣布卡耶因其杰出贡献被授予荣誉军团勋章。

He almost cried with joy, and, a week later, it was announced in the Journal Officiel that M. Caillard had been awarded the Legion of Honor on account of his exceptional services.