迈克尔

林水云风

“说起这事，我想说的是
我们有补救的办法，有好的希望。
伊莎贝尔，我们要让卢克出去走走，
我们的田产不会没的，没事的，
它是儿子的，风会依旧在那上面刮过。
伊莎贝尔，你知道的，
我们有个亲戚——他会慷慨解囊
帮我们这个忙。他生意做得好，
很有钱的——让卢克跟他干，
有亲戚的帮忙，然后卢克攒钱偿还，
就解决这个问题了，然后
就让卢克回来。卢克呆在家里，
能干什么呢？咱这儿是个穷地方，
上哪儿能挣钱？”

未完

林水云风

At this the old Man paused，
And Isabel sat silent，for her mind
Was busy，looking back into past times.
There’s Richard Bateman，thought she to herself，
He was a parish-boy—at the church-door
They made a gathering for him，shillings，pence，
And halfpennies，wherewith the neighbours bought
A basket，which they filled with pedlar’s wares；
And，with this basket on his arm，the lad
Went up to London，found a master there，
Who，out of many，chose the trusty boy
To go and overlook his merchandise
Beyond the seas；where he grew wondrous rich，
And left estates and monies to the poor，
And，at his birth-place，built a chapel floored
With marble，which he sent from foreign lands➀.
These thoughts，and many others of like sort，
Passed quickly through the mind of Isabel，
And her face brightened. The old Man was glad，
And thus resumed:—‘Well，Isabel! this scheme
These two days has been meat and drink to me.
Far more than we have lost is left us yet.
We have enough—I wish indeed that I
Were younger；—but this hope is a good hope.
Make ready Luke’s best garments，of the best
Buy for him more，and let us send him forth
To-morrow，or the next day，or to-night:
—If he could go，the Boy should go tonight.’

➀这里叙述的乃是真人真事，但贝特曼的教名不是理查而是罗伯特。“海外”指意大利西海岸的里窝那。贝特曼为故乡修建的小教堂至今犹存。

林水云风

老人说到这停了下来，
伊莎贝尔静坐着，但她的思绪
活跃起来，想到了过去的一些事情。
她想到了一个人，理查•贝特曼，
是一个教区救济的孩子，
乡亲们在教堂门口为他募捐，
募到了一点钱，买了一些日用品
和一个篮子，好让他挎着贩卖；
这孩子挎着篮子去了伦敦，
在伦敦他遇上了一个大老板，
老板在众人中相中这个诚实的孩子，
遂派他到海外照看他的生意；
他在外面发了大财，腰缠万贯，
但他却把财产都分给了穷人，
他在老家建了座小教堂，
铺的大理石，都是从外面运来的。
伊莎贝尔想到这事，又很快
接二连三想到几件类似的事，
脸上露出了喜色。老牧人非常高兴，
他又接着说：“我说伊莎贝尔，
这事儿我盘算了两天，越想越乐，
咱们得到的要比丢失的多。
咱们可以满足了——我想我要年轻
该多好啊——但这个盼头已足矣。
给卢克找些好衣服，再买几件
好衣服，明天我们就送他走，
要么就后天，今晚也成，
要是今晚能行，就今晚走。”

未完

林水云风

Here Michael ceased，and to the fields went forth
With a light heart. The Housewife for five days
Was restless morn and night，and all day long
Wrought on with her best fingers to prepare
Things needful for the journey of her son.
But Isabel was glad when Sunday came
To stop her in her work: for，when she lay
By Michael’s side，she through the last two nights
Heard him，how he was troubled in his sleep:
And when they rose at morning she could see
That all his hopes were gone. That day at noon
She said to Luke，while they two by themselves
Were sitting at the door，‘Thou must not go:
We have no other Child but thee to lose，
None to remember—do not go away，
For if thou leave thy Father he will die.’
The Youth made answer with a jocund voice；
And Isabel，when she had told her fears，
Recovered heart. That evening her best fare
Did she bring forth，and all together sat
Like happy people round a Christmas fire.

林水云风

迈克尔说完了，心情愉快，
下地里去了。老伴儿起早贪黑
忙碌了五天，每一天里，
她都是尽其所能为儿子的
这次出行准备好所需要的用物。
礼拜天到了，可伊莎贝尔
却有意停下手中的活儿，因她躺在
迈克尔身旁，接连两个晚上，
听他翻来覆去没睡个好觉，
早晨起来，只见他六神无主，
没精打采的样子。那天晌午，
伊莎贝尔和卢克，他俩坐在门旁，
妈跟儿子说，“你别去了，
我和你爹就你这么一个儿子，
没了你，就再没想的了，别去了，
你要是走了，你爹会死的。”
儿子倒是乐呵呵，劝父母甭担心。
而伊莎贝尔把担心说出来，
心里也就踏实了。晚上，
她做了一顿好饭，一家人坐下来，
就像快乐地围坐在圣诞炉火旁。

未完

林水云风

With daylight Isabel resumed her work；
And all the ensuing week the house appeared
As cheerful as a grove in Spring: at length
The expected letter from their kinsman came，
With kind assurances that he would do
His utmost for the welfare of the Boy；
To which，requests were added，that forthwith
He might be sent to him. Ten times or more
The letter was read over；Isabel
Went forth to show it to the neighbours round；
Nor was there at that time on English land
A prouder heart than Luke’s. When Isabel
Had to her house returned，the old Man said，
‘He shall depart to-morrow.’To this word
The Housewife answered，talking much of things
Which，if at such short notice he should go，
Would surely be forgotten. But at length
She gave consent，and Michael was at ease.

林水云风

第二天，伊莎贝尔又接着忙乎了，
这一个星期，家里格外欢乐，
就像春天抽枝开花的小花园儿。
这时，期盼的亲戚的回信来了，
亲戚很有亲情，保证要尽力
让卢克工作和生活得好，
亲戚在信里还特意地要求，
要卢克最好马上动身去他那里。
这封信不知被看了多少遍，
伊莎贝尔拿着信出去给乡亲们看，
这时候在全英国，恐怕
没有谁的心情比卢克更得意了。
伊莎贝尔回到家，老头子说，
“让儿子明天动身吧。”一听这话，
老婆子说，很多活儿没做完，
让儿子这么急急忙忙地走，
准保儿会丢三落四。可很快
她还是答应了，迈克尔也放了心。

未完

林水云风

Near the tumultuous brook of Greenhead Ghyll，
In that deep valley，Michael had designed
To build a Sheep-fold；and，before he heard➁
The tidings of his melancholy loss，
For this same purpose he had gathered up
A heap of stones，which by the streamlet’s edge
Lay thrown together，ready for the work.
With Luke that evening thitherward he walked；
And soon as they had reached the place he stopped，
And thus the old Man spake to him:—‘My Son，
To-morrow thou wilt leave me: with full heart
I look upon thee，for thou art the same
That wert a promise to me ere thy birth，
And all thy life hast been my daily joy.
I will relate to thee some little part
Of our two histories；’twill do thee good
When thou art from me，even if I should touch
On things thou canst not know of.—After thou
First cam’st into the world—as oft befalls
To new-born infants—thou didst sleep away
Two days，and blessings from thy Father’s tongue
Then fell upon thee. Day by day passed on，
And still I loved thee with increasing love.
Never to living ear came sweeter sounds
Than when I heard thee by our own fireside
First uttering，without words，a natural tune；
While thou，a feeding babe，didst in thy joy
Sing at thy Mother’s breast. Month followed month，
And in the open fields my life was passed
And on the mountains；else I think that thou
Hadst been brought up upon thy Father’s knees.
But we were playmates，Luke: among these hills，
As well thou knowest，in us the old and young
Have played together，nor with me didst thou
Lack any pleasure which a boy can know.’
Luke had a manly heart；but at these words
He sobbed aloud. The old Man grasped his hand，
And said，‘Nay，do not take it so—I see
That these are things of which I need not speak.
—Even to the utmost I have been to thee
A kind and a good Father: and herein
I but repay a gift which I myself
Received at others’hands；for，though now old
Beyond the common life of man，I still
Remember them who loved me in my youth.
Both of them sleep together: here they lived，
As all their Forefathers had done；and when
At length their time was come，they were not loth
To give their bodies to the family mould.
I wished that thou shouldst live the life they lived，
But’tis a long time to look back，my Son，
And see so little gain from threescore years.
These fields were burthened when they came to me；
Till I was forty years of age，not more
Than half of my inheritance was mine.
I toiled and toiled；God blessed me in my work，
And till these three weeks past the land was free➂.
—It looks as if it never could endure
Another Master. Heaven forgive me，Luke，
If I judge ill for thee，but it seems good
That thou shouldst go.’

林水云风

在格林赫吉尔深深的山谷，
那条喧闹欢腾的小溪旁，
迈克尔早就打算修一个羊圈，
并且他已经搬了很多石头
堆在了小溪边上，基本可以动工了，
可是就在这个时候，他听到了
这个令他沮丧的破财的消息。
老牧人晚上带着卢克朝溪边走去，
刚走到地方他就停住了脚步，
他语重心长地对儿子说：“儿子，
明天你就要离家了，我整个心
都在你身上，就是你呀，
你还未生下来，就成了我的期盼，
你生下来后，就是我整天的欢乐。
我想把咱爷俩的一些事儿
说给你听听，很多事儿我不说
你是不知道的，所以让你
知道这些事儿，对你在外有好处。
你刚来到人世——很多新生婴儿
都有这事——你足足睡了两天，
你爹我那两天是嘴不停地
为你祈祷。一天一天地过去，
我爱你那真是越来越深。
在咱家火炉边，听见你的第一声，
不是说话，是自然的发音，
那真是这世上最甜美的声音，
你还是个吃奶的婴儿，在你妈怀里
高兴就唱出了声。一月接一月，
要不是田间山里有活儿需要我，
我想我就会把你抱在膝上，
一手把你养大。但是卢克，
咱俩还是玩儿伴，在这山里，
你该记得，咱俩一老一少，
在一起玩儿，要是没有我，
你会缺少很多儿童应有的欢乐。”
卢克已经是男子汉，可听了这番话，
情不自禁哭了起来。老牧人
抓住他的手，说，“别哭，
我知道这些事儿不应该提了，
虽然说我待你尽了力，算得上
一个好父亲。我说的意思是，
只要我得到了别人的厚待，
我就要报答，我现在虽然已经老了，
就要入土了，但是我从未忘记
小时候疼爱过我的父母。
二老合葬在一起，这是他们生活的地方，
也是祖祖辈辈生活过的地方，
当最后生命走到尽头，都乐意
把自己埋进家族的茔地。
我原本也希望你这样生活一辈子，
可是儿子，回头看看这么长的时间，
六十年才挣下这么一点家产。
我刚得到这块儿地的时候负担很重，
我四十岁的时候，拥有的产权
还不到一半儿。我辛辛苦苦地干，
托上帝保佑我的这番付出，
三个礼拜前，这块儿地才全是我的。
看起来要是让这块儿地易主，
它难以忍受。卢克，要是我
没有给你选择好，请上帝宽恕，
但我觉得你还是应该去。”

未完

林水云风

At this the old Man paused；
Then，pointing to the stones near which they stood，
Thus，after a short silence，he resumed:
‘This was a work for us；and now，my Son，
It is a work for me. But，lay one stone—
Here，lay it for me，Luke，with thine own hands.
Nay，Boy，be of good hope；—we both may live
To see a better day. At eighty-four
I still am strong and hale；—do thou thy part；
I will do mine.—I will begin again
With many tasks that were resigned to thee:
Up to the heights，and in among the storms，
Will I without thee go again，and do
All works which I was wont to do alone，
Before I knew thy face.—Heaven bless thee，Boy!
Thy heart these two weeks has been beating fast
With many hopes；it should be so—yes—yes—
I knew that thou couldst never have a wish
To leave me，Luke: thou hast been bound to me
Only by links of love: when thou art gone，
What will be left to us!—But，I forget
My purposes. Lay now the corner-stone，
As I requested；and hereafter，Luke，
When thou art gone away，should evil men
Be thy companions，think of me，my Son，
And of this moment；hither turn thy thoughts，
And God will strengthen thee: amid all fear
And all temptation，Luke，I pray that thou
May’st bear in mind the life thy Fathers lived，
Who， being innocent，did for that cause
Bestir them in good deeds. Now，fare thee well—
When thou return’st，thou in this place wilt see
A work which is not here: a covenant
’Twill be between us；but，whatever fate
Befall thee，I shall love thee to the last，
And bear thy memory with me to the grave.’