双语·《刀锋》 第一章 三

CHAPTER ONE 3
第一章 三

When I first met Elliott I was just a young author like another and he took no notice of me. He never forgot a face and when I ran across him here or there he shook hands with me cordially, but showed no desire to further our acquaintance；and if I saw him at the opera, say, he being with a person of high rank, he was apt not to catch sight of me.But then I happened to make a somewhat startling success as a playwright, and presently I became aware that Elliott regarded me with a warmer feeling.One day I received a note from him asking me to lunch at Claridge's, where he lived when in London.It was a small party and not a very smart one, and I conceived the notion that he was trying me out.But from then on, since my success had brought me many new friends, I began to see him more frequently.Shortly after this I spent some weeks of the autumn in Paris and met him at the house of a common acquaintance.He asked me where I was staying and in a day or two I received another invitation to lunch, this time at his apartment；when I arrived I was surprised to see that it was a party of considerable distinction.I giggled to myself.I knew that with his perfect sense of social relations he had realized that in English society as an author I was not of much account, but that in France, where an author just because he is an author has prestige, I was.During the years that followed our acquaintance became fairly intimate without ever developing into friendship.I doubt whether it was possible for Elliott Templeton to be a friend.He took no interest in people apart from their social position.When I chanced to be in Paris or he in London, he continued to ask me to parties when he wanted an extra man or was obliged to entertain travelling Americans.Some of these were, I suspected, old clients and some were strangers sent to him with letters of introduction.They were the cross of his life.He felt he had to do something for them and yet was unwilling to have them meet his grand friends.The best way of disposing of them of course was to give them dinner and take them to a play, but that was often difficult when he was engaged every evening for three weeks ahead, and also he had an inkling that they would scarcely be satisfied with that.Since I was an author and so of little consequence he didn't mind telling me his troubles on this matter.
初次遇见艾略特时，我只是个名不见经传的年轻作家，他根本无视我的存在。由于他对每一张面孔都过目不忘，不管哪里遇见都跟我客气地握手，只是似乎毫无意图和我深交。在看戏的时候巧遇，如果他和某个显贵在一起，他就假装没看见我。后来我写的剧本获得了出人意料的成功，我立刻就察觉到艾略特对我的态度升温，变得热情起来。一天，我收到他的一封请柬，请我去克拉里奇酒店吃饭——此处是他在伦敦的下榻地。那是个小型的宴会，规格也不是很高。我当时有一种感觉，觉得他在试探我的深浅。后来，我的成功给我的身边增加了不少新朋友，跟他见面的机会也就多了起来。在这之后不久，正逢秋季，我去巴黎住了几个星期，有一次在一个双方都认识的熟人家和他不期而遇。他问了我的住址，过了一两天我就收到了他的一封午宴请柬——这次的午宴地点设在他的公寓里。到了那儿一看，我意外地发现这次宴会的规格相当高，不由心里暗自笑了。我知道他熟谙人情世故，晓得一个作家在英国社交界无足轻重，而在法国则备受推崇，于是我这个作家也就被他另眼相看了。这以后的若干年里，我和他来往十分密切，但始终未成为推心置腹的朋友。我怀疑艾略特恐怕跟任何人都不能成为朋友的。他对人并不感兴趣，只关心人的社会地位。不论我偶尔去巴黎，或是他来伦敦，他请客少一个人，或者有义务要招待前来旅游的美国人时，总要请我作陪。这些人，我怀疑有些是他的老主顾，有些是拿介绍信来拜见他的陌生人。他们成了他生活中的累赘。他觉得总得应酬一下，但又不情愿介绍他们和他那些显赫的朋友见面。打发他们最好的办法自然就是请客吃饭了，然后再请他们去看场戏，可这其中他也自有难处，因为他每晚都有应酬，而且早在三个星期前全约好了；即使他尽了地主之谊，料想那些人也未必就此满足。鉴于我是个作家，跟这类事情干系不大，于是他愿意将肚子里的苦水倒给我听。

“People in America are so inconsiderate in the way they give letters. It's not that I'm not delighted to see the people who are sent to me, but I really don't see why I should inflict them on my friends.”
“美国的那些人写什么介绍信，一点也不为别人考虑。我倒不是不乐意接待前来拜访的人，只是觉得实在不应该拖累身边的朋友。”

He sought to make amends by sending them great baskets of roses and huge boxes of chocolates, but sometimes he had to do more. It was then, somewhat na?vely after what he had told me, that he asked me to come to the party he was organizing.
他用大篮子盛放玫瑰花，用大盒子装上巧克力，赠送给那些人以弥补招待上的不周。不过，有时还得设迎宾宴。也就是在这个时候，他请我来作陪的。先前他把原委告诉了我，此时又邀我来应景，未免有些幼稚了。

“They want to meet you so much，”he wrote to flatter me.“Mrs. So-and-so is a very cultivated woman and she's read every word you've written.”
“他们渴望能和你见上一面。”他在邀请短柬中奉迎我，“某某夫人是个很有文学涵养的人，你写的书她逐词逐句都拜读了。”

Mrs. So-and-so would then tell me she'd so much enjoyed my book Mr.Perrin and Mr.Traill and congratulate me on my play The Mollusc.The first of these was written by Hugh Walpole and the second by Hubert Henry Davies.
见了面，那位“某某夫人”就会告诉我，说看了我的《培林先生和特雷尔先生》一书，简直喜欢极了，并祝贺我的《软体动物》剧本演出成功。殊不知头一本书的作者是休·沃波尔，后一书的作者是哈伯特·亨利·戴维斯。