双语·《刀锋》 第二章 一

CHAPTER TWO 1
第二章 一

I did not see Elliott till he came to London towards the end of June in the following year. I asked him whether Larry had after all gone to Paris.He had.I was faintly amused at Elliott's exasperation with him.
一直到第二年的六月末，艾略特来到伦敦，我才和他又见了面。我问他拉里到巴黎去了没有，他说去了。他对拉里窝了一肚子的火，这叫我听了暗自发笑。

“I had a kind of sneaking sympathy for the boy. I couldn't blame him for wanting to spend a couple of years in Paris and I was prepared to launch him.I told him to let me know the moment he arrived, but it was only when Louisa wrote and told me he was there that I knew he'd come.I wrote to him care of the American Express, which was the address she gave me, and asked him to come and dine to meet some of the people I thought he ought to know；I thought I'd try him out first with the Franco-American set, Emily de Montadour and Gracie de Chateau-Gaillard and so on, and d’you know what he answered?He said he was sorry he couldn’t come, but he hadn’t brought any evening clothes with him，”
“我对这孩子素有恻隐之心，他想来巴黎待上两年，我毫不怪他，而且还准备帮助他一把。我告诉他，一到巴黎就通知我。后来路易莎写信告诉我，说他在巴黎时，我才知道他已经来了。我让美国运通公司转给他一封信（地址是路易莎给我的），请他来吃饭，让他认识几位我觉得有必要认识的人。我一厢情愿地想让他先结交一些法裔美国人，其中有爱米丽·德·蒙塔杜尔和格拉西·德·夏托加亚尔等。你猜他是怎么回复的？他说很抱歉不能来，因为他来法国时没带晚礼服。”

Elliott looked me full in the face to see the stupefaction with which he expected this communication to fill me. He raised a supercilious eyebrow when he observed that I took it with calm.
艾略特眼睛盯着我，以为他的一席话会叫我的脸上出现惊讶的神情，却发现我声色不动，于是便一抬眉毛，露出了不悦。

“He replied to my letter on a sheet of nasty paper with the heading of a café in the Latin Quarter and when I wrote back I asked him to let me know where he was staying.I felt I must do something about him for Isabel’s sake, and I thought perhaps he was shy-I mean I couldn’t believe that any young fellow in his senses could come to Paris without evening clothes, and in any case there are tolerable tailors there, so I asked him to lunch and said it would be quite a small party, and would you believe it, not only did he ignore my request to give me some other address than the American Express, but he said he never ate luncheon.That finished him as far as I was concerned.”
“他的回信写在一张劣质信纸上，上面印有拉丁区一家咖啡馆的名字。我又写了封信给他，要他把住址告诉我。我觉得，看在伊莎贝尔的分上，我也得帮他一把。我当时以为他不愿来是怕见生人——我简直无法相信一个头脑正常的年轻人来巴黎怎么能不带晚礼服；而且不管怎样说，巴黎的裁缝铺也还是不错的。这次我说明是请他吃午饭，客人也不多。可是，你恐怕不会相信，他无视我的请求，没有把住址告诉我，仍托美国运通公司转来回信；这还不够，他竟然说自己从不吃午饭。这一下，叫我拿他一点办法都没有了。”

“I wonder what he's been doing with himself.”
“不知道他现在在干些什么。”

“I don't know, and to tell you the truth I don't care. I'm afraid he's a thoroughly undesirable young man and I think it would be a great mistake for Isabel to marry him.After all, if he led a normal sort of life I'd have run across him at the Ritz bar or at Fouquet’s or somewhere.”
“鬼才知道。实话说，他干什么我才不管呢。恐怕这个小青年是个极不成器的人。伊莎贝尔嫁给他，肯定是个大错误。如果他是个正儿八经的人，就应该出入于里茨酒吧间或者富凯饭店等场所，而非拉丁区的咖啡馆。”

I go sometimes to these fashionable places myself, but I go to others also, and it happened that I spent several days in Paris early in the autumn of that year on my way to Marseilles, where I was proposing to take one of the Messagerie ships for Singapore. I dined one evening with friends in Montparnasse and after dinner we went to the D?me to drink a glass of beer.Presently my wandering eye caught sight of Larry sitting by himself at a little marble-topped table on the crowded terrace.He was looking idly at the people who strolled up and down enjoying the coolness of the night after a sultry day.I left my party and went up to him.His face lit up when he saw me and he gave me an engaging smile.He asked me to sit down, but I said I couldn’t as I was with a party.
这些时尚的高级场所，有时候我自己也出入，但不时尚的地方我也去。那年的初秋时分，我到马赛去，准备乘法邮公司的船前往新加坡，途中路过巴黎时在那儿住了几天。一天傍晚，我和几个朋友在蒙巴纳斯街区吃过晚饭，一同去多姆咖啡店喝杯啤酒。我四周瞧瞧，一眼看见拉里在人满为患的露台上，独自坐在一张大理石面的小桌旁。他悠闲地望着街上来往的行人——闷热的白天刚过，人们在享受晚间的凉爽。我丢下同伴朝着他走了过去。他看见我，脸上顿时放出亮光，抛给我一个迷人的微笑。他请我坐下，可我说是跟朋友们一起来的，不便多待。

“I just wanted to say how d'you do to you，”I said.
“我来只是想向你问声好。”我说道。

“Are you staying here?”he asked.
“你住在巴黎吗？”他问。

“Only for a very few days.”
“只住几天。”

“Will you lunch with me tomorrow?”
“明天跟我一起吃午饭好吗？”

“I thought you never lunched.”
“我还以为你从不吃午饭呢？”

He chuckled.
他哧哧地笑了。

“You've seen Elliott. I don't generally.I can't afford the time, I just have a glass of milk and a brioche, but I'd like you to lunch with me.”
“看来你见过艾略特了。我一般是不吃的，没有时间吃，只喝杯牛奶、吃块蛋糕对付一下。不过，我倒是想跟你一起吃顿午饭。”

“All right.”
“那好吧。”

We arranged to meet at the D?me next day to have an apéritif and eat at some place on the boulevard.I rejoined my friends.We sat on talking.When next I looked for Larry he had gone.
我们约好次日来多姆咖啡店见，先喝杯开胃酒，然后去林荫大道找个馆子吃饭。商定之后，我便回到那几个朋友身旁谈天说地。待我转过头再去看拉里，发现他已经走了。