The Meeting
相遇
How well I remember that meeting! I was in Venice, that city of dark secrets and silent waters. It was midnight, and the midsummer air was hot and still, the canals silent and empty.
我对那次相遇记忆犹新！当时我在威尼斯，那座充满黑暗秘密和寂静水域的城市。那是午夜时分，仲夏的空气闷热而凝滞，运河寂静且空无一人。
I was coming home in a gondola along the Grand Canal when I heard a sudden scream – a woman’s scream.
我正乘着贡多拉沿着大运河回家，突然听到一声尖叫——一个女人的尖叫声。
I jumped up, and the boatman turned my gondola to go under the Bridge of Sighs and past the great house of the Mentoni family.
我跳了起来，船夫转动贡多拉，驶过叹息桥，经过曼托尼家族的豪宅。
Lights were on in all the windows, and people were running down the steps to the water. The canal was suddenly as light as day.
所有窗户都亮着灯，人们正跑下台阶奔向水边。运河突然亮如白昼。
What has happened?’ I called out.
“发生什么事了？”我大声问道。
A child fell from its mother’s arms,’ came the answer. ‘From a high window of the house.’
“一个孩子从母亲怀里掉下来了，”有人回答，“从那栋房子的高窗上掉下来的。”
I stopped to watch, full of fear for the child. Already people were swimming in the water, calling, shouting, looking everywhere.
我停下来看着，为那个孩子充满了恐惧。已经有人在水里游泳，呼喊着，叫嚷着，到处寻找。
At the doorway to the palace stood the child’s young mother, the Marchesa di Mentoni, the loveliest woman in all of Venice.
在宫殿门口站着孩子的年轻母亲，曼托尼侯爵夫人，她是整个威尼斯最美丽的女人。
She stood alone. But she was not looking into the water for her lost child. She was staring across the canal at the building opposite. Why? I asked myself. What could she see there, in the dark corners of that old building? Or was she afraid to look into the canal, afraid to see the dead body of her child in the dark waters?
她独自站着。但她并没有在水里寻找她失去的孩子。她正凝视着运河对岸的建筑物。为什么？我问自己。她在那座古老建筑的黑暗角落里能看到什么？还是她害怕看运河，害怕在漆黑的水中看到孩子的尸体？
On the steps behind the Marchesa, higher up, stood her old husband, Mentoni himself, the head of the rich and famous Mentoni family. He gave orders to the servants who were looking for his child, but he looked bored, bored to death.
在侯爵夫人身后的台阶上，更高处，站着她的老丈夫，曼托尼本人，那个富有且著名的曼托尼家族的族长。他向寻找孩子的仆人们下达命令，但他看起来很无聊，无聊透顶。
Then, from one of the dark corners outside the building opposite, a man stepped into the light and immediately jumped into the canal.
然后，从对面建筑物外面的一个黑暗角落里，一个男人走到灯光下，立刻跳进了运河。
A minute later, he stood next to the Marchesa with the living, breathing child in his arms. The light from the windows fell on his face, and everyone could see him.
一分钟后，他抱着活着的、呼吸着的孩子站在侯爵夫人身边。窗户的灯光照在他脸上，每个人都能看到他。
The young man stood next to the Marchesa with the child in his arms.
那个年轻人抱着孩子站在侯爵夫人身边。
He was a very famous young man – as beautiful as a Greek god, with his black eyes, and his wild black hair. We were not close friends, but I knew him a little, from my time in Venice.
他是一个非常著名的年轻人——有着黑色的眼睛和凌乱的黑发，美得像个希腊神祇。我们不是密友，但我对他略有了解，因为我曾在威尼斯待过一段时间。
He did not speak. And to my great surprise the Marchesa did not take her child in her arms and hold him close. Other hands took the child and carried him away, into the house.
他没有说话。令我大为惊讶的是，侯爵夫人并没有把孩子抱进怀里紧紧搂住。别的手接过了孩子，把他带走了，带进了屋里。
And the Marchesa? Her eyes were wet with tears, and her hands were shaking.
而侯爵夫人呢？她的眼睛里噙满了泪水，双手在颤抖。
Then old Mentoni turned and went into the house. The Marchesa took the young man’s hand in both of hers, and stared into his face. Her eyes were dark with terror, and her face as white as the moonlight that danced on the waters of the canal.
然后老曼托尼转身走进了屋子。侯爵夫人用双手握住年轻人的手，凝视着他的脸。她的眼睛因恐惧而变得阴暗，脸色像运河水面上舞动的月光一样苍白。
She spoke softly, hurriedly, the tears running down that wild, white face. Below the steps, in my gondola, I heard every word.
她轻声、急促地说着，泪水顺着那张苍白而狂野的脸颊流下。在台阶下方的贡多拉里，我听到了每一个字。
You have won,’ she said, ‘you have won… and you are right… there is only one answer… we cannot go on… we agreed the way, and now the time has come… we shall meet… one hour after sunrise…’
“你赢了，”她说，“你赢了……而且你是对的……只有一个答案……我们无法继续下去了……我们商定了方式，现在时机已到……我们将在日出后一小时……见面……”
Everyone went away, lights went out, and my young friend now stood alone on the steps. He was white-faced and shaking. He looked around and saw me, and remembered me at once.
每个人都走了，灯灭了，我的年轻朋友现在独自站在台阶上。他脸色苍白，浑身颤抖。他环顾四周，看到了我，并立刻认出了我。
There were no other boats on the canal at that time, so I took him home in my gondola. We talked of unimportant things, and then he asked me to visit him the next morning.
当时运河上没有别的船，所以我用我的贡多拉送他回家。我们谈论了一些无关紧要的事情，然后他请我第二天早上去拜访他。
Come at sunrise,’ he said. ‘Yes, at sunrise! Not a minute later. Please!’
“日出时来，”他说。“是的，日出时！一分钟也不能晚。请务必！”
I thought his words were a little strange, but they were not the first strange words on that strange night.
我觉得他的话有点奇怪，但这在这奇怪的夜晚并不是我听到的第一句奇怪的话。
I agreed to go, and arrived at sunrise. His apartment was in one of those very old buildings which look down on the Grand Canal, near the Rialto Bridge. The rooms were large, and full of beautiful things from Italy, Greece, Egypt… There were pictures, furniture, carpets, things made of black stone, and red stone, of glass, of gold, of silver… Soft music was playing somewhere, and the early morning sunlight danced in through the windows.
我同意了，并在日出时到达。他的公寓位于里亚托桥附近，俯瞰大运河的一座非常古老的建筑里。房间很大，摆满了来自意大利、希腊、埃及的美丽物品……有画作、家具、地毯、黑色石头和红色石头制成的东西、玻璃制品、金器、银器……某个地方播放着轻柔的音乐，清晨的阳光透过窗户欢快地跳进来。
There was too much to look at, too much light, too many colours, too many beautiful things. I stared around in silent surprise, and my young friend laughed.
东西太多了，看不过来，光线太强了，颜色太多了，美丽的东西太多了。我惊讶地环顾四周，默不作声，我的年轻朋友笑了。
Oh, I am sorry for laughing,’ he said. ‘But you look so surprised! And sometimes a man must laugh or die. How wonderful to die laughing, don’t you agree?’
“哦，对不起，我笑了，”他说。“但你看起来太惊讶了！而且有时候人必须笑，否则就会死。笑着死去是多么美妙，你不这么认为吗？”
He half-fell into a low chair, still laughing in that strange way.
他半倒在一把低矮的椅子上，仍然以那种奇怪的方式笑着。
I have other apartments,’ he went on, ‘but none like this one. You are one of the very few people who have seen it. Come – I have some famous pictures here. You must see them.’
“我还有其他的公寓，”他继续说道，“但没有一个像这个。你是极少数看过它的人之一。来——我这里有一些名画。你必须看看。”
He wanted to show me everything. He was tired, but also excited. And perhaps afraid too. I could not be sure. But something was worrying him. Sometimes he stopped speaking in the middle of a sentence and listened. To what? The sound of another visitor on the stairs? To words inside his head?
他想向我展示一切。他很疲惫，但也很兴奋。也许还有点害怕。我不确定。但有什么事在困扰着他。有时他在一句话说到一半时停下来倾听。听什么？楼梯上另一位访客的声音？还是脑海里的字句？
During one of these silent moments, I turned away and saw a book of Italian songs on a small table. The open page was wet with new tears. And on the opposite, empty page, written in English and in my young friend’s handwriting, were these lines:
在这些沉默的时刻之一，我转过身，看到一张小桌子上有一本意大利歌曲集。打开的那一页被新流下的眼泪打湿了。在对面空白的那一页上，用英文写着，字迹是我年轻朋友的笔迹，内容如下：
You were my sun, my moon, my stars,
你是我的太阳，我的月亮，我的星星，
My life I gave to you.
我的生命献给你。
We danced by day, we sang by night,
我们白天跳舞，夜晚歌唱，
A love so sweet and true.
一份如此甜蜜和真实的爱。
Now all my days I spend in darkness,
现在我所有的日子都在黑暗中度过，
The fire of life is cold,
生命的火焰已冰冷，
I see no more your quick bright smile,
我再也看不到你敏捷灿烂的微笑，
Your hand I cannot hold.
我无法握住你的手。
They took you from our English clouds
他们把你从我们的英格兰云雾中带走
To a blue Italian sky,
带到蓝色的意大利天空下，
To marry an old man, rich in gold,
去嫁给一个富有的老男人，
And now my heart will die.
现在我的心将死去。
Under these lines were written a place and date. The place was London. This surprised me, because when I first met him in Venice, I asked him, ‘When you were living in London, did you ever meet the Marchesa di Mentoni? She lived in that city for some years before she married.’
在这些诗句下面写着一个地点和日期。地点是伦敦。这让我很惊讶，因为当我在威尼斯第一次见到他时，我问他：“当你住在伦敦时，你见过曼托尼侯爵夫人吗？她在结婚前曾在那个城市住过几年。”
To this he replied, ‘I have never been to London.’
对此他回答说：“我从未去过伦敦。”
For a rich young Englishman I thought this was strange, but I thought little of it at the time.
对于一个富有的英国年轻人来说，我觉得这很奇怪，但当时我没多想。
He did not see me with this book, and now turned to me again.
他没有看到我拿着这本书，现在又转向我。
One more picture to see,’ he said. ‘Come.’
“还有一幅画要看，”他说。“来。”
He took me to a small room. There was just one picture in it – a portrait of the Marchesa di Mentoni.
他带我去了一个小房间。里面只有一幅画——曼托-尼侯爵夫人的肖像。
She stood, smiling down at us, as beautiful as ever, her dark eyes full of life.
她站着，朝我们微笑，和以往一样美丽，她的眼睛充满了生机。
My young friend stood, staring at the portrait for a long time. Then, at last, he said, ‘Come, let’s drink!’
我的年轻朋友站着，凝视着肖像很长时间。然后，最后他说：“来，我们喝酒吧！”
He went away to find wine, and I turned back to the book of Italian songs on the little table. Perhaps there were answers to these mysteries about my friend in this book. I turned the pages, and found, hidden at the back of the book, part of a letter. It was in a woman’s handwriting.
他走开去找酒，我转过身回到小桌子旁的意大利歌曲集。也许关于我朋友的这些谜团的答案就在这本书里。我翻动书页，在书的后面发现了一封信的一部分。那是女人的笔迹。
… You say that you love me, more than the world, more than life itself. But how much is that? How can I be sure? Will you do this for me? Will you save from death my child –my child, by him?
“……你说你爱我，胜过世界，胜过生命本身。但这有多少呢？我怎么确定呢？你能为我做这件事吗？你会救我的孩子免于死亡吗——他的孩子？”
If you do this, then I will know that your words are true. And I will take your hand for one last time… We shall go together through that last door…
如果你这样做了，那么我知道你的话是真的。我会最后一次牵起你的手……我们将一起穿过那扇最后的门……”
I heard a sound, and closed the book hurriedly. My friend came back into the room, carrying two large silver goblets, full to the top with wine. He gave one to me.
我听到一个声音，急忙合上了书。我的朋友回到房间里，拿着两个大银杯，装满了酒。他给了我一杯。
It is early, but let’s drink,’ he said again. At that moment a clock sounded the hour. ‘One hour after sunrise,’ he said softly. ‘Yes, it is early. But what does it matter? Let us drink to the sun, yes, the sun!’
“现在还早，但我们喝酒吧，”他又说。就在那时，钟声敲响了。他轻声说：“日出后一小时。”“是的，还早。但这有什么关系呢？让我们为太阳干杯，是的，太阳！”
He drank his goblet of wine very quickly.
他很快喝完了杯子里的酒。
To dreams,’ he said. ‘All my life I have dreamed. I have made myself a home of dreams, here in the heart of Venice. Where could be better?’ He put his empty goblet down on the table. ‘And now I am ready for the land of real dreams. Soon, I shall be there…’
“为梦想，”他说。“我一生都在做梦。我在威尼斯的心脏为自己建造了一个梦想的家。哪里能比这里更好呢？”他把空杯子放在桌子上。“现在我已准备好去往真正梦想的国度。很快，我就会在那里……”
All my life I have dreamed…’
“我一生都在做梦……”
He stopped and listened – but to what, I did not know. Then he lifted his head and said:
他停了下来，听着——但听什么，我不知道。然后他抬起头说：
Wait for me there! I will be sure
在那里等我！我一定会
To meet you at that last dark door.
在那扇最后的黑暗之门与你相会。
On the last word he fell into a chair, and his eyes closed.
最后一个字说完，他倒在椅子上，闭上了眼睛。
At the same moment there were feet on the stairs, and a loud knocking at the door. A young servant from the Mentoni house ran into the room.
就在这时，楼梯上传来脚步声，门口响起了大声的敲门声。一个来自曼托尼家的年轻仆人跑进房间。
The Marchesa! I come from the Marchesa!’ the boy cried.’Poison! She has taken poison! She is dead!’
“侯爵夫人！我是从侯爵夫人那里来的！”男孩喊道。“毒药！她服毒了！她死了！”
I ran to the chair and tried to wake my young friend, to tell him this strange and terrible news.
我跑到椅子旁，试图唤醒我的年轻朋友，告诉他这个奇怪而可怕的消息。
But he did not move. His hand was cold to my touch, and his face white and still.
但他一动不动。他的手摸起来冰冷，脸色苍白而僵硬。
He, too, was dead.
他也死了。
I fell back against the table in terror, and my hand touched my friend’s wine goblet, which stood there. It was now blackened inside, and from it came a sweet, sickly smell – the smell of poison.
我惊恐地跌倒在桌子上，我的手碰到了我朋友放在那里的酒杯。杯子里面现在变黑了，散发出一种甜腻的气味——毒药的气味。
And in a second I understood everything.
一瞬间，我明白了这一切。
0 条评论