牛津书虫系列 远大前程 Chapter 7

7 Pip arrives in London

7 匹普到达伦敦

At that time everybody in England agreed that London was a wonderful city.So I was surprised to find it rather ugly， with narrow dirty streets， and people crowded into tiny houses. I was frightened by its huge size. At Smith-field， the meat market， I was shocked by the dirt and blood everywhere Then I came to Newgate Prison， where a drunk old man showed me the place where prisoners were hanged，and told me excitedly that four men would die there tomorrow. I was disgusted by this news.My first impression of London could not have been worse.

在那时，英国的每个人都称赞伦敦是一座美丽的城市。然而，让我吃惊的是，发现这座城市陈旧不堪、街道狭窄肮脏，人们拥挤在窄小的房子里，我被城市巨大的规模而吓呆。在伦敦肉食店，一个鲜肉市场，到处的污物和血迹让我毛骨悚然。然后，我来到新兴门监狱，这里一个喝得醉熏熏的老人把绞首架的地方指给我看，并兴奋地告诉我，明天这儿将有4个人归天，这个消息让我厌恶。我的伦敦第一印象不能再坏了。

However I managed to find Mr Jaggers’ office， noticing that other people were waiting for the great man too. After some time he appeared， walking towards me. His clients all rushed at him together. He spoke to some， and pushed others away.One man held on to the lawyer’s sleeve.

不管怎样，我要设法找到贾格斯先生的事务所，我注意到，其他人也在等候这位大人。过了一会儿他露面了，朝我走来。他的顾客一起向他冲来，他说了几句话，把其他人打发走了。有一个人抓住律师的衣袖。

‘Please， Mr Jaggers，’he begged，‘my brother is accused of stealing silver. Only you can save him! I’m ready to pay any-thing!’

“求您啦，贾格斯先生”，他乞求说，“指控我兄弟偷了银器，只有你才能救他!我准备支付什么都行!”

‘Your brother?’repeated the lawyer.‘And the trial is to-morrow? Well，I’m sorry for you， and him.I’m on the other side.’

“你的兄弟?”律师重复说，“判决是明天吗?喂，对你很抱歉，我是在对面。”

‘No，Mr Jaggers!’ cried the man desperately， tears in his eyes.‘Don’t say you’re against him!I’ll pay anything!’

“不，贾格斯先生!”这个人不顾死活地叫喊着，双眼充满着泪水，“不是说你反对他!我什么东西都会支付的!”

‘Get out of my way，’said Mr Jaggers and we left the man on his knees on the pavement.

“滚开”，贾格斯先生说，我们离开了跪在人行道上的那个人。

Now Mr Jaggers turned to me and told me that on Monday I would go to Matthew Pocket’s house to start my studies， but until then I would stay with his son， Herbert， who lived near-by.

现在，贾格斯先生转向我并告诉我星期一我将去马修·朴凯特的家，开始我的学业。不过，到那时，我将和他的儿子，住在附近的赫伯特生活在一起。

Wemmick， Mr Jaggers’ clerk，showed me the way to Mr Pocket’s rooms.He was a short， dry man， with a square， expressionless face，between forty and fifty years old. His mouth was so wide that it looked like a post-box，and gave the impression of smiling all the time.

文米克，贾格斯先生的雇员，带着我去了朴凯特先生的房间。他是一个干瘪矮小的家伙，一张面无表情的方脸，年龄四、五十岁。他的大嘴看上去像一个邮箱，总是给人留下一个冷笑的印象。

‘Is London a very wicked place?’I asked him， trying to make conversation as we walked.

“伦敦是一个很坏的地方吗?”我问他，当我们走着的时候，设法找点儿话说。

‘You may be robbed or murdered in London. But that may happen to you anywhere， if there is any profit in it for the criminal.’

“在伦敦，你可能被抢或被杀，如果对罪犯有点好处，不论你在何处，都可能发生。”

I was not sure whether I looked forward to living in London， where people like Wemmick accepted crime so calmly.

我不知道是否盼望在伦敦生活，这儿的人们都像文米克一样平静地容忍犯罪。

We arrived at Herbert Pocket’s rented rooms. The building was the dirtiest I had ever seen， with broken windows and dusty doors.It stood in a little square with dying trees around it.I looked in horror at Mr Wemmick.

我们到达赫伯特·朴凯特租的房屋，这是我见到的最肮脏的房子，破碎的门窗，满是尘土的楼道。这座房子坐落在一个小方院内，周围有一些要死不活的树木。我恐怖地看着文米克先生。

‘Ah!’ he said，not understanding my look.‘Its quiet position makes you think of the country.I quite agree.Goodbye，Mr Pip.’

“啊!”他不理解我的脸色，说，“幽静的职位让你想起农村，我很赞成，再见，匹普先生。”

I went up the stairs， where there was a note on Mr Pocket’s door， saying ‘Returning soon.’His idea of ‘soon’was not the same as mine. About half an hour later I heard footsteps rushing upstairs， and a young man of my age appeared breath-less at the door.‘Mr Pip?’he said.‘I’m so sorry I’m late!’

我上了楼梯，在朴凯特的门上贴有一张纸条，上面写着“外出即归”。他的“即归”意思和我的意思不一样。大约半小时之后，我听到冲上楼的脚步声，一个和我年龄相仿的年轻人上气不接下气地出现在门口。“匹普先生吗?”他说，“对不起，我来晚了!”

I greeted him in a confused manner， unable to believe my eyes Suddenly he looked closely at me and gasped.

我有点慌乱地向他问候，不能相信自己的眼睛。突然他气喘吁吁地盯着我。

‘But you’re the boy at Miss Havisham’s!’

“你是在郝薇香小姐家里的那个孩子!”

‘And you，’ I said，‘are the pale young gentleman!’

“你，”我说，“是那个白面少年绅士!”

We both started laughing， and shook hands.

我们摇摇双手，开始大笑起来。

‘Well!’ he said，‘I hope you’ll forgive me for having knocked you down that day.’In fact I had knocked him down. But I did not contradict him.

“喂!”他说，“希望你能原谅我，那天把你打倒了”。事实上，是我把他打倒了。但是，我没有反驳他。

‘Do you know why I was there?’ he asked.‘I had been invited to Miss Havisham’s to see if she liked me.I suppose I didn’t make a good impression on her.If she had liked me，I could be a rich man and engaged to Estella by now.’

“你知道为什么我在那儿?”他问，“郝薇香小姐让我去见她，看看我是否中她的意。我猜，我没有给她留下好的印象，如果她喜欢我的话，我现在可能是一个富翁了，并和艾丝黛拉订婚了。”

‘Were you disappointed?’I asked.

“你们没有约定吗?”我问道。

‘Oh!I wouldn’t want to marry Estella!She’s a hard，proud girl， and Miss Havisham has brought her up to break men’s hearts， as a revenge on all men.’

“噢!我不想和艾丝黛拉结婚!她是一个冷酷无情、傲慢的女孩子，郝薇香小姐把她带大，教唆她去伤男人的心，报复所有的男人。”

‘Is she a relation of Miss Havisham’s?’I asked.

“她是郝薇香小姐的亲戚吗?”我问。

‘No，only adopted. Why were you at Miss Havisham’s then?’

“不是，只不过是养女罢了。那么，你为什么在郝薇香小姐家呢?”

‘To make my fortune， the same as you! But I was lucky.’

“为我的命运，和你一样!不过，我是幸运的。”

‘You know Mr Jaggers is Miss Havisham’s lawyer?It was kind of him to suggest that my father should teach you. My father is Miss Havisham’s cousin， you know.’

“你知道贾格斯先生是郝薇香小姐的律师吗?他仁慈地建议让我父亲教你，我父亲是郝薇香小姐的表兄，你明白。”

Herbert Pocket made an excellent impression on me. He always spoke openly and honestly.There was nothing secret or mean in his character， and we soon became good friends. I told him of my past life in the village， and my expectations.

赫伯特·朴凯特给我一个极好的印象，他说的总是直率和诚实的。在他的性格上，没有什么秘密和别有用意的事情，我们很快就成了好朋友。我告诉他在乡村过去的生活和我的前程。

‘Call me Herbert，’ he said.‘Would you mind my calling you Handel? There’s a wonderful piece of music by Handel，called The Blacksmith， which reminds me of you.’ Of course I agreed， and as we sat down to dinner， Herbert told me Miss Havisham’s sad story.

“叫我赫伯特，”他说，“我叫你汉德尔你会介意吗?有一支汉德尔写的美妙的乐曲，叫《铁匠》，这是你提醒了我。”当然我同意，当我们坐下来吃晚饭时，赫伯特给我讲了郝薇香小姐悲哀的故事。

‘Her mother died young. Her father was very rich and very proud， with only one child， Miss Havisham， by his first wife.Then he married his cook， and had a son by her.This son， a half-brother to Miss Havisham， was a bad character， and didn’t inherit as much from his father as Miss Havisham did.And so perhaps he was angry with her for influencing her father against him.

“她的妈妈年轻时就去世了，她的父亲是个富翁也很高傲，他第一个妻子，只有郝薇香小姐这一个孩子。然后，他和他的厨娘结婚，和她有一个儿子，这个儿子，对郝薇香小姐来说是同父异母的弟弟，是一个性格很坏的人，从他父亲那里继承的家产远没有郝薇香小姐那么多。或许是他生她的气，影响到她父亲反对他。

‘Anyway，a certain man appeared， and pretended he was in love with Miss Havisham. She was certainly in love with him，and gave him whatever money he asked for. My father was the only one of her relations who dared to tell her that this man should not be trusted. She was so angry that she ordered my father straight out of the house， and he has never seen her since. Her other relations were not interested in her happiness but only in inheriting her wealth， so they said nothing. The couple fixed the wedding day， the guests were invited， the dress and the cake were brought to the house. The day came，but the man did not. He wrote a letter—’

有一个人假装爱上了郝薇香小姐，她是深深地爱着他，无论什么时候他要钱，她都给他。我父亲是她亲戚中唯一的一个，他敢告诉她这个人不是真正地爱她。她很生气，以致于下令让我父亲离开她的家。从此，他再也没有见到她。其他的亲戚对她的幸福不感兴趣，只想继承她的财富。因此，他们什么也不说。两人定好结婚的日子，宾客都邀请了，结婚礼服和蛋糕都买回家了。可是，结婚这一天到来之际，那人却不见了。他写了一封信——”

‘Which she received at twenty to nine， when she was dressing for her wedding?’ I said.

“她是在8点40分收到的，当时她正穿着结婚礼服吧?”我说。

‘Yes，so she stopped the clocks at that moment.She was very ill for a while， and since then has not seen daylight. People think that her half-brother sent the man to get money from her， and that he shared the profits. Perhaps he hated her for inheriting most of the Havisham fortune. Nobody knows what happened to the two men. So now you know as much as I do!’

“不错，在那一时刻她停止了钟表。她一时病得很重，自从那以后再没见过阳光。人们认为是她同父异母的弟弟派那个人来向她要钱，他从中得利。也许他恨郝薇香继承的财富太多，没有人知道两人发生了什么事情。现在你所知道的和我一样多!”

We talked of other things.I asked Herbert what his profession was.

我们谈了些其它事情。我问赫伯特，他的职业是什么。

‘Oh，working in the City，’ he said happily.‘Insuring ships.There’s a lot of money in that， you know. Huge profits!’

“噢，在市里工作，”他愉快地说，“从事船只保险，这一行有许多钱，你知道，丰厚的利润!”

I began to think that Herbert must have greater expectations than I had.

我开始想，赫伯特一定比我有更远大的前程。

‘Where are your ships at the moment?’ I asked admiringly.

“此刻你的船在哪儿!”我羡慕地问。

‘Oh， I haven’t started yet.I’m working in a counting-house just now. They don’t pay me much， but I’m looking about me for a good opportunity. Then I’ll make my fortune!’

“噢，我还没有开展工作，刚才我正在会计室工作。他们没有支付更多的钱给我，不过，我找到了挣钱的好机会，不久，我将成为富翁。”

Looking around the room， at the old， worn furniture，I realized that Herbert must be very poor.And although he seemed full of hope for the future， somehow I thought he would never be very rich or successful.

看看周围的屋子，古老破旧的家具。我想，赫伯特一定很清贫，尽管他似乎对未来充满希望，不知为什么我想他不会成为富翁，也不会成功的。

He and I spent a happy weekend visiting London together.Although it was all very exciting， I could not avoid noticing the dirt and bad smells and heat， and I compared it sadly with my village home， which now seemed so far away.

我和他一起游览了伦敦，度过了一个愉快的周末。虽然这使我很兴奋，但我不能回避去评价这个脏乱、怪味、又闷热的地方，伤心地和我似乎更遥远的乡下现在的家相比较。