雙語·《刀鋒》 第四章 三

CHAPTER FOUR 3
第四章 三

In all big cities there are self-contained groups that exist without intercommunication, small worlds within a greater world that lead their lives, their members dependent upon one another for companionship, as though they inhabited islands separated from each other by an unnavigable strait. Of no city, in my experience, is this more true than of Paris.There high society seldom admits outsiders into its midst, the politicians live in their own corrupt circle, the bourgeoisie, great and small, frequent one another, writers congregate with writers（it is remarkable in André Gide’s Journal to see with how few people he seems to have been intimate who did not follow his own calling），painters hobnob with painters and musicians with musicians.The same thing is true of London, but in a less marked degree；there birds of a feather flock much less together, and there are a dozen houses where at the same table you may meet a duchess, an actress, a painter, a member of Parliament, a lawyer, a dressmaker, and an author.
在所有大城市里，有著一個個獨(dú)立的社會圈子，彼此互不交往，在偌大的一個世界上構(gòu)成了若干小世界，關(guān)起門過自己的日子，內(nèi)部的成員相互依存、抱團(tuán)取暖，猶如一座座孤島，島與島之間隔著無法通航的海峽。根據(jù)我的所見所聞，沒有一座城市比巴黎更是如此了。在這座城市里，上流社會很少允許外人涉足圈內(nèi)；政客們自成一個圈子，過著糜爛的生活；大大小小的資產(chǎn)階級相互之間你來我往；作家和作家歡聚一堂（在安德烈·紀(jì)德的日記里，有一點(diǎn)很突出：他好像很少跟自己行業(yè)之外的人交往），畫家和畫家結(jié)伴，音樂家和音樂家為友。倫敦的情況也大致如此，只不過不那么明顯罷了。倫敦城內(nèi)，雖也“人以群分”，但與巴黎相比就不那么講究了，有那么十幾戶人家，餐桌上既能看見公爵夫人，也可以遇到演員、畫家、議員、律師、服裝設(shè)計師和作家。

The events of my life have led me at one time and another to dwell transitorily in pretty well all the worlds of Paris, even（through Elliott）in the closed world of the Boulevard St. Germain；but that which I liked best, better than the discreet circle that has its centre in what is now called the Avenue Foch, better than the cosmopolitan crew that patronize Larue's and the Café de Paris, better than the noisy sordid gaiety of Montmartre, is that section of which the artery is the Boulevard du Montparnasse.In my youth I spent a year in a tiny apartment near the Lion de Belfort, on the fifth floor, from which I had a spacious view of the cemetery.Montparnasse has still for me the tranquil air of a provincial town that was characteristic of it then.When I pass through the dingy narrow Rue d’Odessa I remember with a pang the shabby restaurant where we used to foregather to dine, painters and illustrators and sculptors, I，but for Arnold Bennett on occasion, the only writer, and sit late discussing excitedly, absurdly, angrily, painting and literature.It is still a pleasure to me to stroll down the boulevard and look at the young people who are as young as I was then and invent stories for myself about them.When I have nothing better to do I take a taxi and go and sit in the old Café du D?me.It is no longer what it was then, the meeting place exclusively of Bohemia；the small tradesmen of the neighbourhood have taken to visiting it, and strangers from the other side of the Seine come to it in the hope of seeing a world that has ceased to exist.Students come to it still, of course, painters and writers, but most of them are foreigners；and when you sit there you hear around you as much Russian, Spanish, German, and English as French.But I have a notion that they are saying verymuch the same sort of things as we said forty years ago, only they speak of Picasso instead of Manet and of André Breton instead of Guillaume Apollinaire.My heart goes out to them. When I had been in Paris about a fortnight I was sitting one evening at the D?me and since the terrace was crowded I had been forced to take a table in the front row.It was fine and warm.The plane trees were just bursting into leaf and there was in the air that sense of leisure, lightheartedness, and alacrity that was peculiar to Paris.I felt at peace with myself, but not lethargically, with exhilaration rather.Suddenly a man walking past me, stopped and with a grin that displayed a set of very white teeth said：“Hello！”I looked at him blankly.He was tall and thin.He wore no hat and he had a mop of dark brown hair that badly needed cutting.His upper lip and his chin were concealed by a thick brown beard.His forehead and his neck were deeply tanned.He wore a frayed shirt, without a tie, a brown, threadbare coat, and a pair of shabby grey slacks.He looked a bum and to the best of my belief I had never seen him before.I put him down for one of those good-for-nothings who have gone to the devil in Paris and I expected him to pull a hard-luck story to wheedle a few francs out of me for a dinner and a bed.He stood in front of me, his hands in his pockets, showing his white teeth, with a look of amusement in his dark eyes.
我的人生際遇使得我在不同的時間段里游走于巴黎各類社交圈子，甚至還（通過艾略特）進(jìn)入過圣日爾曼大街那個封閉的世界，但我最喜歡的是以蒙帕納司大街為中軸的那個小社會——這個小社會在我心目中的地位要超過那個以現(xiàn)在叫作福煦大道為中心的拘謹(jǐn)保守的小圈子，要超過經(jīng)常光顧拉魯埃餐館和巴黎咖啡館的那些國際人士，也超過蒙馬特爾區(qū)的那些吵吵鬧鬧、蓬頭垢面的追歡族。年輕時，我曾經(jīng)在貝爾福獅子咖啡館附近的一個小公寓里住過一年。我的房間在五樓，視野開闊，可以眺望到那片公墓。蒙帕納司在我眼中仍舊具有當(dāng)初它特有的那種外省鄉(xiāng)鎮(zhèn)的靜謐氣息。走過陰暗、狹窄的奧德薩街時，我會怦然心跳，會回想起我們經(jīng)常聚餐的那家寒磣的餐館。我們中間有油畫家、插圖畫家和雕塑家，除了阿諾德·班內(nèi)特偶爾來來外，在座的就我一個作家了。我們在那兒一待就待到很晚，一塊兒討論繪畫和文學(xué)，一個個情緒激昂，語氣激憤，樣子荒唐可笑。如今走在蒙帕納司大街上，看一看那些和我當(dāng)年一樣的年輕人，以他們?yōu)樗{(lán)本構(gòu)想幾篇故事，仍不失為人生樂事。無事可做的時候，我就搭乘出租車去多姆咖啡店懷懷舊。昔日的景象不復(fù)存在，它已不再是放蕩不羈的文化人聚會的場所，而成了附近小商小販的啜飲之地，顧客中也有塞納河對岸跑來的外鄉(xiāng)人，他們懷著一線希望，想看看一個業(yè)已消亡的世界留下的痕跡。當(dāng)然，來的人中間仍有學(xué)生、畫家和作家，但多為外國人。坐在這里，既可以聽到法語，也可以聽到俄語、西班牙語、德語和英語。我有一種感覺，他們的話題跟我們四十年前的話題基本是一樣的，只不過他們談的是畢加索而非馬奈，是安德烈·布勒東而非紀(jì)堯姆·阿波利奈爾。對這些人我有一種親切的感覺。來到巴黎后，大約有兩個星期的時間了。一天傍晚，我去多姆咖啡店小飲，露臺上人多，只好在前排找一張桌子坐下。天氣晴暖。法國梧桐樹上葉子的苞芽待出，空氣中飄蕩著巴黎所特有的那種閑散、輕松和歡快的氣氛。我的內(nèi)心一片寧靜——這不是呆滯的寧靜，而是充滿了活力的寧靜。突然，一個男子從旁邊走過時，卻停住了腳步，咧嘴一笑，露出一口雪白的牙齒，沖著我打招呼道：“你好！”我白了他一眼。此人瘦高個，沒有戴帽子，亂蓬蓬的深棕色頭發(fā)早就該剪了，上嘴唇和下巴被濃密的棕色胡須遮得嚴(yán)嚴(yán)實(shí)實(shí)，額頭和脖子被太陽曬成了紫紅色。他穿一件破襯衫，沒有打領(lǐng)帶，一件舊舊的棕色外套，下穿一條襤褸的灰褲子?？此哪酉駛€叫花子，我堅信自己和此人素不相識。在我看來，他就是那種流落于巴黎街頭的混混，八成會編出一套落難的故事，從我手中騙幾個法郎去吃頓晚飯，找個住宿的地方。他站在我面前，雙手插兜，露出雪白的牙齒，黑眼睛里含著笑意。

“You don't remember me?”he said.
“你記不得我啦？”他問。

“I've never set eyes on you in my life.”
“我從來就沒有見過你?！?/p>

I was prepared to give him twenty francs, but I wasn't prepared to let him get away with the bluff that we knew one another.
我準(zhǔn)備給他二十法郎把他打發(fā)走，可又覺得無法容忍他撒謊，好像我們以前認(rèn)識似的。

“Larry，”he said.
“我是拉里?！彼f。

“Good God！Sit down.”He chuckled, stepped forward and took the empty chair at my table.“Have a drink.”I beckoned to the waiter.“How could you expect me to recognize you with all that hair on your face?”
“我的天呀！快請坐！”他嘿嘿一笑，趨前一步，在我旁邊的空椅子上坐了下來?！皝肀鹊模　蔽覜_著跑堂的侍者喊了一聲，然后又對拉里說道：“你滿臉的胡子，怎么能叫我認(rèn)出來呢？”

The waiter came and he ordered an orangeade. Now that I looked at him I remembered the peculiarity of his eyes, which came from the black of the iris being as black as that of the pupil and which gave them at once intensity and opaqueness.
侍者走過來，拉里點(diǎn)了杯橘子水。我仔細(xì)打量拉里，想起了他眼睛的特別之處——那虹膜和瞳孔的顏色一樣黑，讓他的目光顯得專注和神秘。

“How long have you been in Paris?”I asked.
“你來巴黎多長時間了？”我問。

“A month.”
“一個月?！?/p>

“Are you going to stay?”
“預(yù)備待下去嗎？”

“For a while.”
“待一段時間吧?！?/p>

While I asked these questions my mind was busy. I noticed that the cuffs of his trousers were ragged and that there were holes in the elbows of his coat.He looked as destitute as any beachcomber I had ever met in an Eastern port.It was hard in those days to forget the depression and I wondered whether the crash of'twenty-nine had left him penniless.I didn't much like the thought of that and not being a person to beat about the bush I asked outright：
我一邊問話，腦子卻轉(zhuǎn)個不停。我注意到他的褲腳已毛了邊，上衣的胳膊肘處有幾個窟窿眼，一副落魄相，跟我在東方港口碰見過的流浪漢沒什么兩樣。那些日子，人們對經(jīng)濟(jì)大蕭條的后果久久難忘，于是我便覺得一定是一九二九年的經(jīng)濟(jì)大崩潰使他成了個窮光蛋。我不喜歡繞著圈子說話，此時干脆開門見山地問道：

“Are you down and out?”
“你是不是落了難？”

“No, I'm all right. What makes you think that?”
“哪里的話。我挺好的。你怎么會這么想？”

“Well, you look as if you could do with a square meal and the things you've got on are only fit for the garbage can.”
“哦，你看上去像是吃施舍飯的，身上破衣爛衫，還不如扔到垃圾箱里好?！?/p>

“Are they as bad as all that?I never thought about it. As a matter of fact I have been meaning to get myself a few odds and ends, but I never seem able to get down to it.”
“有這么糟嗎？這我從來沒有想到過。其實(shí)，我計劃著添幾件零用品，可就是沒有能付諸實(shí)施。”

I thought he was shy or proud and I didn't see why I should put up with that sort of nonsense.
我覺得他是難為情或者放不下架子，所以不愿意再聽他支吾下去。

“Don't be a fool, Larry. I'm not a millionaire, but I'm not poor.If you're short of cash let me lend you a few thousand francs.That won't break me.”
“別充好漢了，拉里。我不是百萬富翁，但也不窮。如果你缺錢，就讓我借給你幾千法郎吧。這不會叫我破產(chǎn)的。”

He laughed outright.
他哈哈大笑起來。

“Thanks a lot, but I'm not short of cash. I've got more money than I can spend.”
“多謝。不過，我并不缺錢。我自己的錢都花不完呢。”

“Notwithstanding the crash?”
“經(jīng)濟(jì)大崩潰中沒受沖擊嗎？”

“Oh, that didn't affect me. Everything I had was in government bonds.I don't know whether they went down in value, I never inquired, but I do know that Uncle Sam went on paying up on the coupons like the decent old party he is.In point of fact I've been spending so little during the last few years, I must have quite a bit in hand.”
“哦，那次大崩潰沒有沖擊到我。我把所有的錢都買了政府公債。不知道政府公債是不是也貶值了。我沒有打聽過，只知道山姆大叔仍一如既往地支付著利息。實(shí)際上，這幾年我的花銷很小，手頭寬裕著呢?！?/p>

“Where have you come from now then?”
“那么，你是從哪里過來的？”

“India.”
“從印度。”

“Oh, I heard you'd been there. Isabel told me.She apparently knows the manager of your bank in Chicago.”
“哦，我聽說你去了那里，是伊莎貝爾告訴我的。她好像認(rèn)識你在芝加哥那家銀行的經(jīng)理?！?/p>

“Isabel?When did you last see her?”
“伊莎貝爾？你是什么時候見到她的？”

“Yesterday.”
“昨天?！?/p>

“She's not in Paris?”
“她不會在巴黎吧？”

“She is indeed. She's living in Elliott Templeton's apartment.”
“實(shí)際上，她在巴黎呢，住在艾略特·鄧普頓的那套公寓里?！?/p>

“That's grand. I'd love to see her.”
“太好了。我想見見她?！?/p>

Though I was watching his eyes pretty closely while we were exchanging these remarks I could discern only a natural surprise and pleasure, but no feeling more complicated.
我們說這些話時，我一直在留意觀察他的眼神，發(fā)現(xiàn)他的眼睛里有很自然的詫異和喜悅，沒有復(fù)雜的成分。

“Gray's there too. You know they're married?”
“格雷也住在那里。你知道他們結(jié)婚了嗎？”

“Yes, Uncle Bob-Dr. Nelson, my guardian-wrote and told me, but he died some years ago.”
“知道。鮑勃大叔，也就是我的監(jiān)護(hù)人納爾遜醫(yī)生，曾經(jīng)寫信告訴過我。他幾年前過世了?！?/p>

It occurred to me that with this break in what appeared his only link with Chicago and his friends there he probably knew nothing of what had happened. I told him of the birth of Isabel's two daughters, of the death of Henry Maturin and Louisa Bradley, of Gray's ruin and of Elliott's generosity.
我想起納爾遜醫(yī)生可能是他和芝加哥以及那邊的朋友之間的唯一聯(lián)系，如今這條線一斷，他大概對這幾年發(fā)生的事情一無所知。于是我告訴他伊莎貝爾生了兩個女兒，亨利·馬圖林和路易莎·布雷德利離開了人世，說格雷已經(jīng)破產(chǎn)，還講了講艾略特的義舉。

“Is Elliott here too?”
“艾略特也在巴黎嗎？”

“No.”
“不在?！?/p>

For the first time in forty years Elliott was not spending the spring in Paris. Though looking younger he was now seventy and as usual with men of that age there were days when he felt tired and ill.Little by little he had given up taking any but walking exercise.He was nervous about his health and his doctor came to see him twice a week to thrust into an alternate buttock a hypodermic needle with the fashionable injection of the moment.At every meal, at home or abroad, he took from his pocket a little gold box from which he extracted a tablet which he swallowed with the reserved air of one performing a religious rite.His doctor had recommended him to take the cure at Montecatini, a watering-place in the north of Italy, and after this he proposed to go to Venice to look for a font of a design suitable to his Romanesque church.He was less unwilling to leave Paris unvisited since each year he found it socially more unsatisfactory.He did not like old people, and resented it when he was invited to meet only persons of his own age, and the young he found vapid.The adornment of the church he had built was now a main interest of his life and here he could indulge his ineradicable passion for buying works of art with the comfortable assurance that he was doing it to the glory of God.He had found in Rome an early altar of honey-coloured stone and had been dickering in Florence for six months for a triptych of the Siennese school to put over it.
四十年來，艾略特第一次不在巴黎過春天。盡管看上去顯年輕，他畢竟也是七旬老者了。在這古稀之年，他經(jīng)常感到周身乏力，身體欠佳。除了散步，他把別的鍛煉項目都逐漸放棄了。他對自己的健康狀況深感憂慮。他的醫(yī)生每個星期來探視兩次，在他的兩邊屁股上輪流打針，皮下注射一種當(dāng)時流行的針劑。每次吃飯，不論在家里或者在外面，他總要從口袋里掏出個小金盒子，取出一粒藥片吞下去，就像履行宗教儀式一樣鄭重其事。醫(yī)生勸他去蒙特卡蒂尼療養(yǎng)，那是意大利北部的一個溫泉療養(yǎng)場。這之后，他提出想到威尼斯去尋找一個圣洗池，準(zhǔn)備安放在他的那座羅馬式教堂里。他對巴黎的鐘愛已大不如從前了，原因是他覺得巴黎的社交生活一年不如一年。他不喜歡年紀(jì)大的人，遇到有人請客，請的都是他這般年紀(jì)的人，他就覺得心中不快。而見了年輕人，他又覺得他們淺薄。裝修他出資建造的那座教堂，如今成了他生活中主要的興趣所在；在這上面，他大量購買藝術(shù)品，宣泄自己對藝術(shù)的那種根深蒂固的熱情，同時感到心安理得，覺得是在為上帝效力。他在羅馬找到一座蜜黃色石頭砌的基督教早期的祭壇，又在佛羅倫薩花了六個月時間討價還價，買了一塊錫耶納派的三幅一體的浮雕圖，將浮雕圖鑲嵌在祭壇上方。

Then Larry asked me how Gray was liking Paris.
隨后，拉里問我格雷喜不喜歡巴黎。

“I'm afraid he's feeling rather lost here.”
“他在這兒恐怕有一種失落感。”

I tried to explain to him how Gray had struck me. He listened to me with his eyes fixed on my face in a meditative, unblinking gaze that suggested to me, I don't know why, that he was listening to me not with his ears, but with some inner more sensitive organ of hearing.It was queer and not very comfortable.
我試圖向他描述格雷給我留下的印象。拉里聽著，眼睛一眨不眨，死死盯著我的臉，一副若有所思的表情。不知怎么的，我覺得他不是用耳朵在聽，而用的是內(nèi)心深處一種更為敏感的器官。這讓我覺得怪兮兮的，感到有點(diǎn)不太舒服。

“But you'll see for yourself，”I finished.
“不過，你還是自己看看吧?！蔽夷┝苏f。

“Yes, I'd love to see them. I suppose I shall find the address in the phone book.”
“好的。我很想見見他們。在電話簿上，我想是能夠找到他們的住址的。”

“But if you don't want to scare them out of their wits and drive the children into screaming hysterics, I think you'd be wise to have your hair cut and your beard shaved.”
“不過有一點(diǎn)：假如你不想把他們的魂都嚇掉，不想嚇得孩子們喊起來，勸你先去剃個頭，把胡子刮刮。”

He laughed.
他一聽笑了起來。

“I've been thinking of it. There's no object in making myself conspicuous.”
“我正打算這么做呢。顯然沒有必要使自己這么招眼?！?/p>

“And while you're about it you might get yourself a new outfit.”
“除此之外，你還應(yīng)該給自己弄一套新衣服?！?/p>

“I suppose I am a bit shabby. When I came to leave India I found that I had nothing but the clothes I stand up in.”
“我這一身也許真算得上衣衫襤褸了。臨離開印度的時候，我才發(fā)現(xiàn)自己只有身上的這套行頭了?！?/p>

He looked at the suit I was wearing, and asked me who my tailor was. I told him, but added that he was in Londonand so couldn't be of much use to him.We dropped the subject and he began to talk again of Gray and Isabel.
拉里說到這里，看了看我穿的衣服，問我是哪家裁縫做的。我告訴了他，但又補(bǔ)充了一句，說這家裁縫在倫敦，可能無法為他效力。我們撇開此事不提，又聊起了格雷和伊莎貝爾來。

“I've been seeing quite a lot of them，”I said.“They're very happy together. I've never had a chance of talking to Gray alone, and anyway I dare say he wouldn't talk to me about Isabel, but I know he's devoted to her.His face is rather sullen in repose and his eyes are harassed, but when he looks at Isabel such a gentle, kind look comes into them, it’s rather moving.I have a notion that all through their trouble she stood by him like a rock and he never forgets how much he owes her.You’ll find Isabel changed.”I didn’t tell him she was beautiful as she had never been before.I wasn’t sure he had the discernment to see how the pretty, strapping girl had made herself into the wonderfully graceful, delicate, and exquisite woman.There are men who are affronted by the aids that art can supply to feminine nature.“She’s very good to Gray.She’s taking infinite pains to restore his confidence in himself.”
“他們倆我是經(jīng)常見的?！蔽艺f道，“他們把日子過得十分幸福。我一直沒機(jī)會跟格雷單獨(dú)交談，其實(shí)就是單獨(dú)交談，他也不會跟我談伊莎貝爾的。不過，我知道他對伊莎貝爾的感情非常深。靜下來的時候，他表情陰郁、目光茫然，而一看到伊莎貝爾，他的眼睛里便有了柔情愛意，見了令人感動。我有一種感覺，在那些風(fēng)風(fēng)雨雨中，伊莎貝爾始終站在他身旁，堅如磐石，此恩此情他終生難忘。見了面，你會發(fā)現(xiàn)伊莎貝爾變了樣。”我沒告訴他，伊莎貝爾現(xiàn)在之美是以前任何時候都無法比擬的。以前的那個漂亮的高個子女孩已經(jīng)變成了一個端莊典雅、儀態(tài)萬方的美少婦，這一蛻變的過程誰知道他能不能辨得出來。世間有些男人，他們只喜歡天生的麗質(zhì)，而不喜歡修飾出來的美?！八龑Ω窭缀芎?，盡了最大的力量幫助他恢復(fù)自信心?！蔽依^續(xù)說道。

But it was growing late and I asked Larry if he would come along the boulevard and dine with me.
說話間，天色漸晚，我問拉里愿不愿跟我到街上找個地方吃晚飯。

“No, I don't think I will, thanks，”he answered.“I must be off.”
“不了，我就不去了。謝謝?！彼卮鹫f，“我得走了?！?/p>

He got up, nodded in a friendly way, and stepped out on to the pavement.
他站起來，親親熱熱點(diǎn)了個頭，抽身離去，出了咖啡店，走到了人行道上。