The Avenue de Clichy was crowded at that hour, and a lively fancy might see in the passers-by the personages of many a sordid romance. —
在那个时候，克里希大街上挤满了人，一个生动的想象可以在路人中看到许多肮脏的故事人物。 —

There were clerks and shopgirls; old fellows who might have stepped out of the pages of Honore de Balzac; —
有文员和女店员；老人们可能就像步出欧仁·若尔所著小说的页页角色； —

members, male and female, of the professions which make their profit of the frailties of mankind. —
职业人员，无论男女，都以利用人类的弱点获利。 —

There is in the streets of the poorer quarters of Paris a thronging vitality which excites the blood and prepares the soul for the unexpected.
在巴黎贫穷区的街道上，有一种熙熙攘攘的活力，这激发着人们的热情，准备好迎接意想不到的事情。

“Do you know Paris well?” I asked.
“你熟悉巴黎吗？”我问。

“No. We came on our honeymoon. I haven’t been since. “
“不。我们是来度蜜月的。我之前没来过。”

“How on earth did you find out your hotel?”
“你是怎么找到你的酒店的？”

“It was recommended to me. I wanted something cheap. “
“有人推荐给我的。我想找个便宜一点的。”

The absinthe came, and with due solemnity we dropped water over the melting sugar.
苦艾酒来了，我们庄重地把水浇在融化的糖上。

“I thought I’d better tell you at once why I had come to see you, ” I said, not without embarrassment.
“我觉得我最好马上告诉你我为什么来见你，”我说，不无尴尬。

His eyes twinkled. “I thought somebody would come along sooner or later. —
他眼睛闪闪发亮。”我觉得迟早会有人来的。 —

I’ve had a lot of letters from Amy. “
我收到过艾米的很多封信。”

“Then you know pretty well what I’ve got to say. “
“那么你大概知道我要说什么了。”

“I’ve not read them. “
“我没看过。”

I lit a cigarette to give myself a moment’s time. —
我点燃一支香烟，给自己争取一点时间。 —

I did not quite know now how to set about my mission. —
我不太清楚该如何开始我的任务。 —

The eloquent phrases I had arranged, pathetic or indignant, seemed out of place on the Avenue de Clichy. —
我安排的雄辩词句，无论是悲愤还是愤慨，似乎在克利希大道格格不入。 —

Suddenly he gave a chuckle.
突然间，他笑了起来。

“Beastly job for you this, isn’t it?”
“这对你来说是个该死的差事，是吧？”

“Oh, I don’t know, ” I answered.
“噢，我不知道，”我回答道。

“Well, look here, you get it over, and then we’ll have a jolly evening. “
“嘿，你快点解决掉这件事，然后我们会过得很愉快。”

I hesitated.
我犹豫了一下。

“Has it occurred to you that your wife is frightfully unhappy?”
“你有没有想过你的妻子非常不开心？”

“She’ll get over it. “
“她会克服的。”

I cannot describe the extraordinary callousness with which he made this reply. —
我无法描述他说这番话时所表现出的那种非同寻常的冷漠态度。 —

It disconcerted me, but I did my best not to show it. —
这使我感到困惑，但我尽力不让自己表现出来。 —

I adopted the tone used by my Uncle Henry, a clergyman, when he was asking one of his relatives for a subscription to the Additional Curates Society.
我采用了我叔叔亨利牧师在向亲戚们请求为“附属牧师协会”捐款时所使用的调子。

“You don’t mind my talking to you frankly?”
“你不介意我坦诚地和你谈吗？”

He shook his head, smiling.
他摇了摇头，微笑着。

“Has she deserved that you should treat her like this?”
“她难道不配得到你这样对待吗？”

“No. “
“不。”

“Have you any complaint to make against her?”
“你对她有什么投诉吗？”

“None. “
“没有。”

“Then, isn’t it monstrous to leave her in this fashion, after seventeen years of married life, without a fault to find with her?”
“那么，经过十七年的婚姻生活，在她身上找不到任何过错，就这样抛下她，难道不是荒唐的吗？”

“Monstrous. “
“荒唐。”

I glanced at him with surprise. His cordial agreement with all I said cut the ground from under my feet. —
我惊讶地看着他。他对我说的一切表示赞同，使我难以自持。 —

It made my position complicated, not to say ludicrous. —
这让我的处境变得复杂，甚至可笑。 —

I was prepared to be persuasive, touching, and hortatory, admonitory and expostulating, if need be vituperative even, indignant and sarcastic; —
我准备好要说服、打动、劝告、告诫，必要时甚至抨击、愤怒和讽刺； —

but what the devil does a mentor do when the sinner makes no bones about confessing his sin? —
但是当罪人毫不掩饰地承认自己的罪行时，导师该怎么办呢？ —

I had no experience, since my own practice has always been to deny everything.
我毫无经验，因为我自己的做法一直是一概否认。

“What, then?” asked Strickland.
“那又怎样？”史特里克兰问道。

I tried to curl my lip.
我试图皱起嘴唇。

“Well, if you acknowledge that, there doesn’t seem much more to be said. “
“好吧，如果你承认了，似乎没什么更多的可说的了。”

“I don’t think there is. “
“我想也是。”

I felt that I was not carrying out my embassy with any great skill. I was distinctly nettled.
我感到我没有用什么技巧在执行我的使命。我明显感到恼怒。

“Hang it all, one can’t leave a woman without a bob. “
“可恶，一个女人不可能毫无补偿地离去。”

“Why not?”
“为什么不？”

“How is she going to live?”
“她怎么生活？”

“I’ve supported her for seventeen years. Why shouldn’t she support herself for a change?”
“我支持她十七年了。为什么她自己不试试呢？”

“She can’t. “
“她不能。”

“Let her try. “
“让她试试看。”

Of course there were many things I might have answered to this. —
当然我可以对此回答很多事情。 —

I might have spoken of the economic position of woman, of the contract, tacit and overt, which a man accepts by his marriage, and of much else; —
也许我会说到女人的经济地位，男人通过婚姻所接受的默示和明示的契约，以及其他许多事情； —

but I felt that there was only one point which really signified.
但我觉得只有一个点真正重要。

“Don’t you care for her any more?”
“你不再关心她了吗？”

“Not a bit, ” he replied.
“一点也不，”他回答道。

The matter was immensely serious for all the parties concerned, but there was in the manner of his answer such a cheerful effrontery that I had to bite my lips in order not to laugh. —
虽然这对所有当事人来说都是非常严重的事情，但他回答的方式中蕴含着一种开朗的厚颜，以至于我不得不咬着嘴唇才能克制住笑意。 —

I reminded myself that his behaviour was abominable. —
我告诉自己，他的行为是可恨的。 —

I worked myself up into a state of moral indignation.
我激动到了一种道义愤慨的状态。

“Damn it all, there are your children to think of. They’ve never done you any harm. —
“见鬼，你要考虑一下你的孩子。他们从未伤害过你。他们并没有要求来到这个世界。” —

They didn’t ask to be brought into the world. —
如果你这样扔下一切，他们将被丢上街头。 —

If you chuck everything like this, they’ll be thrown on the streets.
“他们已经享受了很多年的舒适。这比大多数孩子都得到的要多得多。”

“They’ve had a good many years of comfort. It’s much more than the majority of children have. —
此外，总会有人照顾他们。到了关键时刻，麦克安德鲁斯会为他们的学费买单。 —

Besides, somebody will look after them. When it comes to the point, the MacAndrews will pay for their schooling. “
“但你难道不喜欢他们吗？他们是那么可爱的孩子。你是说你不想再跟他们有任何关系了吗？”

“But aren’t you fond of them? They’re such awfully nice kids. —
“他们还是小孩的时候，我还挺喜欢他们的，但是现在他们长大了，我对他们并没有特别的感情。” —

Do you mean to say you don’t want to have anything more to do with them?”
“他们都是好孩子。难道你不想再跟他们有任何关系了吗？”

“I liked them all right when they were kids, but now they’re growing up I haven’t got any particular feeling for them. “
“这都是些无关紧要的事情。”

“It’s just inhuman. “
“这根本太不人道了。”

“I dare say. “
“我敢说。”

“You don’t seem in the least ashamed. “
“你似乎一点也不羞愧。”

“I’m not. “
“我没有。”

I tried another tack.
我尝试了另一种方法。

“Everyone will think you a perfect swine. “
“每个人都会认为你是个完美的畜生。”

“Let them. “
“随他们去。”

“Won’t it mean anything to you to know that people loathe and despise you?”
“知道人们憎恶和鄙视你对你没有任何意义吗？”

“No. “
“没有。”

His brief answer was so scornful that it made my question, natural though it was, seem absurd. —
他简短的回答如此蔑视，让我的问题，尽管是再正常不过，看起来荒谬。 —

I reflected for a minute or two.
我思考了一两分钟。

“I wonder if one can live quite comfortably when one’s conscious of the disapproval of one’s fellows? Are you sure it won’t begin to worry you? —
“我想知道当一个人意识到他的同伴不赞同时，他还能过得舒服吗？你确定这不会开始让你烦恼起来？ —

Everyone has some sort of a conscience, and sooner or later it will find you out. —
每个人都有一点良心，迟早会找到你。 —

Supposing your wife died, wouldn’t you be tortured by remorse?”
假设你的妻子死了，你不会因内疚而受折磨吗？”

He did not answer, and I waited for some time for him to speak. —
他没有回答，我等了一段时间等他开口。 —

At last I had to break the silence myself.
最后我不得不自己打破沉默。

“What have you to say to that?”
“你有什么要说的吗？”

“Only that you’re a damned fool. “
“只能说你是个该死的傻瓜。”

“At all events, you can be forced to support your wife and children, ” I retorted, somewhat piqued. —
“无论如何，你必须支持你的妻子和孩子，”我有点生气地回答道。 —

“I suppose the law has some protection to offer them. “
“我想法律可以为他们提供一些保护。”

“Can the law get blood out of a stone? I haven’t any money. I’ve got about a hundred pounds. “
“法律能从石头里挤出血吗？我没有钱。我只有大约一百英镑。”

I began to be more puzzled than before. It was true that his hotel pointed to the most straitened circumstances.
我开始比以前更加困惑。他的旅馆确实暗示着极度拮据的处境。

“What are you going to do when you’ve spent that?”
“你花光了之后打算怎么办？”

“Earn some. “
“挣些。”

He was perfectly cool, and his eyes kept that mocking smile which made all I said seem rather foolish. —
他完全冷静，眼中透着嘲笑的微笑，使我所说的一切都显得相当愚蠢。 —

I paused for a little while to consider what I had better say next. —
我停顿了一会儿，考虑接下来该说什么。 —

But it was he who spoke first.
但他先开口了。

“Why doesn’t Amy marry again? She’s comparatively young, and she’s not unattractive. —
“Amy为什么不再嫁人？她还相当年轻，而且也不缺吸引力。 —

I can recommend her as an excellent wife. —
我可以推荐她作为一位优秀的妻子。 —

If she wants to divorce me I don’t mind giving her the necessary grounds. “
如果她想离婚，我不介意提供必要的理由。”

Now it was my turn to smile. He was very cunning, but it was evidently this that he was aiming at. —
现在轮到我笑了。他很狡诈，但显然他的目的就是这个。 —

He had some reason to conceal the fact that he had run away with a woman, and he was using every precaution to hide her whereabouts. —
他有理由隐瞒与一个女人私奔的事实，他正采取一切预防措施来隐藏她的行踪。 —

I answered with decision.
我果断地回答。

“Your wife says that nothing you can do will ever induce her to divorce you. —
“你妻子说，无论你做什么都不会让她离婚。 —

She’s quite made up her mind. You can put any possibility of that definitely out of your head. “
她已经下定决心。你可以将这个可能性彻底从你的脑海中排除。”

He looked at me with an astonishment that was certainly not feigned. —
他以一种明显不假的惊讶看着我。 —

The smile abandoned his lips, and he spoke quite seriously.
微笑消失在他的嘴唇上，他说得很严肃。

“But, my dear fellow, I don’t care. It doesn’t matter a twopenny damn to me one way or the other. “
“但是，亲爱的，我不在乎。这对我来说无论如何都不重要。”

I laughed.
我笑了。

“Oh, come now; you mustn’t think us such fools as all that. —
“哦，来吧；你不要认为我们都是那么蠢的。 —

We happen to know that you came away with a woman. “
我们碰巧知道你是和一个女人一起离开的。”

He gave a little start, and then suddenly burst into a shout of laughter. —
他略微震惊，然后突然爆发出一阵大笑。 —

He laughed so uproariously that people sitting near us looked round, and some of them began to laugh too.
他笑得如此响亮，坐在我们附近的人们都转过头来，有些人也开始笑了。

“I don’t see anything very amusing in that. “
“我不觉得那有什么好笑的。”

“Poor Amy, ” he grinned.
“可怜的艾米，”他咧着嘴笑着。

Then his face grew bitterly scornful.
然后，他的脸变得充满了痛苦的蔑视。

“What poor minds women have got! Love. It’s always love. —
“女人们是多么简单的思维！爱情。总是爱情。 —

They think a man leaves only because he wants others. —
她们认为男人离开只是因为他想要别人。 —

Do you think I should be such a fool as to do what I’ve done for a woman?”
你以为我会为了一个女人像我已经做过的事情那样愚蠢吗？

“Do you mean to say you didn’t leave your wife for another woman?”
“你是说你不是为了另一个女人而离开你的妻子吗？

“Of course not. “
“当然不是。”

“On your word of honour?”
“以你的荣誉保证？”

I don’t know why I asked for that. It was very ingenuous of me.
我不知道为什么我要求那个。那真的很天真。

“On my word of honour. “
“以我的荣誉保证。”

“Then, what in God’s name have you left her for?”
“那，你究竟为了什么离开她呢？”

“I want to paint. “
“我想要画画。”

I looked at him for quite a long time. I did not understand. I thought he was mad. —
我看着他很长时间。我不明白。我以为他疯了。 —

It must be remembered that I was very young, and I looked upon him as a middle-aged man. —
必须记住，那时我很年轻，我把他看作是一个中年人。 —

I forgot everything but my own amazement.
我忘记了一切，只剩下我的惊讶。

“But you’re forty. “
“但是你已经四十了。”

“That’s what made me think it was high time to begin. “
“这正是使我觉得是时候开始了。”

“Have you ever painted?”
“你有没有画过画？”

“I rather wanted to be a painter when I was a boy, but my father made me go into business because he said there was no money in art. —
“小时候我更想成为一名画家，但我父亲让我走入商界，因为他说艺术没有钱赚。” —

I began to paint a bit a year ago. For the last year I’ve been going to some classes at night. “
“一年前我开始尝试绘画。过去一年里，我每晚都去上一些课程。”

“Was that where you went when Mrs. Strickland thought you were playing bridge at your club?”
“当斯特里克兰夫人认为你在俱乐部打桥牌的时候，你是在那里上课吗？”

“That’s it. “
“是的。”

“Why didn’t you tell her?”
“你为什么不告诉她？”

“I preferred to keep it to myself. “
“我宁愿保留这个想法。”

“Can you paint?”
“你会画画吗？”

“Not yet. But I shall. That’s why I’ve come over here. —
“还没有。但我会的。这就是我来这里的原因。” —

I couldn’t get what I wanted in London. Perhaps I can here. “
“在伦敦我无法得到我想要的东西。也许我在这里能够。”

“Do you think it’s likely that a man will do any good when he starts at your age? —
“你认为一个人在你这个年龄开始，还有可能做出什么成就吗？” —

Most men begin painting at eighteen. “
“大多数人在十八岁开始绘画。”

“I can learn quicker than I could when I was eighteen. “
“我比十八岁时学得更快。”

“What makes you think you have any talent?”
“你为什么认为你有天赋？”

He did not answer for a minute. His gaze rested on the passing throng, but I do not think he saw it. —
他沉默了一分钟。他的视线落在来往的人群上，但我觉得他并没有看到。 —

His answer was no answer.
他的回答并不是回答。

“I’ve got to paint. “
“我必须绘画。”

“Aren’t you taking an awful chance?”
“你难道不觉得这太冒险了吗？”

He looked at me. His eyes had something strange in them, so that I felt rather uncomfortable.
他看着我。他的眼中有一种奇怪的东西，让我感到有些不舒服。

“How old are you? Twenty-three?”
“你多大？二十三岁？”

It seemed to me that the question was beside the point. It was natural that I should take chances; —
我觉得这个问题有点跑题。我冒险是很自然的事情； —

but he was a man whose youth was past, a stockbroker with a position of respectability, a wife and two children. —
但他是一个年轻已逝的男人，一个地位体面的股票经纪人，有一位妻子和两个孩子。 —

A course that would have been natural for me was absurd for him. —
对我来说自然的选择对他来说是荒谬的。 —

I wished to be quite fair.
我希望能公平对待。

“Of course a miracle may happen, and you may be a great painter, but you must confess the chances are a million to one against it. —
“当然可能会发生奇迹，你可能成为一名伟大的画家，但你必须承认成功的机会是百万分之一。 —

It’ll be an awful sell if at the end you have to acknowledge you’ve made a hash of it. “
如果最终你不得不承认你搞砸了，那将是非常失望的。

“I’ve got to paint, ” he repeated.
“我必须画画，”他重复道。

“Supposing you’re never anything more than third-rate, do you think it will have been worth while to give up everything? —
“假如你永远只是三流水平，你认为放弃一切是值得的吗？ —

After all, in any other walk in life it doesn’t matter if you’re not very good; —
毕竟，在生活的其他方面，如果你不太好，那没关系； —

you can get along quite comfortably if you’re just adequate; —
如果你只是合格的话，你也可以过得很舒适； —

but it’s different with an artist. “
但对于一个艺术家来说就不一样了。

“You blasted fool, ” he said.
“你这该死的蠢货，”他说。

“I don’t see why, unless it’s folly to say the obvious. “
“我不明白，除非说出显而易见的事实。

“I tell you I’ve got to paint. I can’t help myself. —
“我告诉你我必须画画。我无法自拔。 —

When a man falls into the water it doesn’t matter how he swims, well or badly: —
当一个人掉进水里时，无论他游得多好还是多差都不重要： —

he’s got to get out or else he’ll drown. “
他必须爬出来，否则他就会淹死。”

There was real passion in his voice, and in spite of myself I was impressed. —
他的声音里有真正的激情，尽管我努力克制，我还是感到印象深刻。 —

I seemed to feel in him some vehement power that was struggling within him; —
我感觉到他身上有一种强烈的力量在与内心挣扎； —

it gave me the sensation of something very strong, overmastering, that held him, as it were, against his will. —
它让我感觉到有一种非常强大、压倒性的东西在控制他，好像是违背他的意愿。 —

I could not understand. He seemed really to be possessed of a devil, and I felt that it might suddenly turn and rend him. —
我无法理解。他似乎真的被恶魔附身，我觉得它可能会突然转向并撕裂他。 —

Yet he looked ordinary enough. My eyes, resting on him curiously, caused him no embarrassment. —
然而他看起来很普通。我好奇地盯着他，却没有让他感到尴尬。 —

I wondered what a stranger would have taken him to be, sitting there in his old Norfolk jacket and his unbrushed bowler; —
我想知道一个陌生人会认为他是什么样的人，坐在那儿穿着他旧的挪威针织外套和没梳理的圆顶礼帽； —

his trousers were baggy, his hands were not clean; —
他的裤子很宽松，手也不干净； —

and his face, with the red stubble of the unshaved chin, the little eyes, and the large, aggressive nose, was uncouth and coarse. —
他的脸上有胡须，没有刮干净的下巴，小眼睛和颇具侵略性的大鼻子，显得粗鲁而粗野。 —

His mouth was large, his lips were heavy and sensual. —
他的嘴很大，嘴唇沉重而肉感。 —

No; I could not have placed him.
不，我无法判断他。

“You won’t go back to your wife?” I said at last.
“你不会回到你妻子那里？”我最后问道。

“Never. “
“永远不会。”

“She’s willing to forget everything that’s happened and start afresh. She’ll never make you a single reproach. “
“她愿意忘记一切重新开始。她永远不会责备你。”

“She can go to hell. “
“她可以去地狱。”

“You don’t care if people think you an utter blackguard? —
“你不在乎人们是否认为你是个彻头彻尾的恶棍？ —

You don’t care if she and your children have to beg their bread?”
“你不在乎她和你的孩子得乞讨求食吗？”

“Not a damn. “
“一点也不在乎。”

I was silent for a moment in order to give greater force to my next remark. —
我沉默了片刻，为了使我下一个言论更有力。 —

I spoke as deliberately as I could.
我尽量以缓慢的语速讲话。

“You are a most unmitigated cad. “
“你真是个彻头彻尾的卑鄙小人。”

“Now that you’ve got that off your chest, let’s go and have dinner. “
“既然你说完了这些，我们去吃晚饭吧。”