| In the evening we had a dance. Cathy begged that he might be liberated then, as Isabella Linton had no partner: her entreaties were vain, and I was appointed to supply the deficiency. We got rid of all gloom in the excitement of the exercise, and our pleasure was increased by the arrival of the Gimmerton band, mustering fifteen strong: a trumpet, a trombone, clarionets, bassoons, French horns, and a bass viol, besides singers. They go the rounds of all the respectable houses, and receive contributions every Christmas, and we esteemed it a first-rate treat to hear them. After the usual carols had been sung, we set them to songs and glees. Mrs. Earnshaw loved the music, and so they gave us plenty. Catherine loved it too: but she said it sounded sweetest at the top of the steps, and she went up in the dark: I followed. They shut the house door below, never noting our absence, it was so full of people. She made no stay at the stairs’-head, but mounted farther, to the garret where Heathcliff was confined, and called him. He stubbornly declined answering for a while: she persevered, and finally persuaded him to hold communion with her through the boards. I let the poor things converse unmolested, till I supposed the songs were going to cease, and the singers to get some refreshment: then I clambered up the ladder to warn her. Instead of finding her outside, I heard her voice within. The little monkey had crept by the skylight of one garret, along the roof, into the skylight of the other, and it was with the utmost difficulty I could coax her out again. When she did come, Heathcliff came with her, and she insisted that I should take him into the kitchen, as my fellow-servant had gone to a neighbour’s, to be removed from the sound of our “devil’s psalmody,” as it pleased him to call it. I told them I intended by no means to encourage their tricks: but as the prisoner had never broken his fast since yesterday’s dinner, I would wink at his cheating Mr. Hindley that once. He went down: I set him a stool by the fire, and offered him a quantity of good things: but he was sick and could eat little, and my attempts to entertain him were thrown away. He leant his two elbows on his knees, and his chin on his hands, and remained rapt in dumb meditation. On my inquiring the subject of his thoughts, he answered gravely—“I’m trying to settle how I shall pay Hindley back. I don’t care how long I wait, if I can only do it at last. I hope he will not die before I do!” “For shame, Heathcliff!” said I. “It is for God to punish wicked people; we should learn to forgive.” “No, God won’t have the satisfaction that I shall,” he returned. “I only wish I knew the best way! Let me alone, and I’ll plan it out: while I’m thinking of that I don’t feel pain.” But, Mr. Lockwood, I forget these tales cannot divert you. I’m annoyed how I should dream of chattering on at such a rate; and your gruel cold, and you nodding for bed! I could have told Heathcliff’s history, all that you need hear, in half a dozen words. * * * * *
| 那天晚上我們有個舞會。闞思乞求把黑思克裏夫給放了，因為伊颯拜菈•林騰沒有舞伴。她的乞求隻是枉然，我被指派來補缺。舞會熱烈的氣氛把我們所有的陰霾一掃而空。吉默屯樂隊的到來更增添了我們的快樂。樂隊足有十五個人——除了歌手外，還有一個小號手，一個長號手，幾個單簧管手，幾個低音管手，幾個圓號手和一個低音提琴手。每逢聖誕節，樂手們走穴於所有名門望族之間，賺點演出費。能聽到他們的表演，我們奉為一件難得的頭等樂事。通常他們唱完聖歌之後，我們就請他們唱一些小調和無伴奏重唱曲。俄韶太太愛好音樂，所以樂隊表演了不少歌曲。 闞思睿也愛好音樂，可是她說在樓上聽起來會最為悅耳。於是，她就摸黑上了樓，我跟在她身後。他們把樓下正屋的門關著，根本沒人注意到我們已經離開，因為正屋裏擠滿了好多人。她到了樓梯口並沒有停下來，卻往上走，來到了閣樓，黑思克裏夫被關押在那裏，她叫著他的名字。好一陣子，他脾氣倔地拒絕回應。她就一直叫著他的名字，最後終於把他說服，隔著木板和她交談。我讓這兩個可憐的家夥說著話，免得受到幹擾，直等到我約摸樓下的歌唱得差不多要結束了，那些歌手要吃點東西時，我就爬上梯子去提醒她。我在閣樓外麵沒找到她，卻聽見她在閣樓裏麵說話。這小猴子是從一個閣樓的天窗爬進去，沿著房頂，又爬進另一個閣樓的天窗。於是我費了好大勁才把她哄騙出來。當她真出來時，黑思克裏夫也跟她來了。她堅持要我把他帶到廚房去，因為我那位仆人同伴周思福，為了躲避我們的“魔鬼讚美詩”（這是他對我們所唱歌曲的稱呼），到鄰居家去了。我告訴他倆我絕不會助長他們玩把戲，但是既然這位被關押的囚犯自從昨天午飯後到現在還沒有吃過東西，我就默許他欺瞞亨得利這一回。他下去了，我搬了條凳子叫他坐在火爐旁，給他一大堆好吃的。可是他病了，吃不下，我本想款待他的好意也隻好浪費掉了。他雙肘支在膝上，手托下巴，一直悶聲不響，坐在那裏出神。我問他想些什麽，他態度嚴肅地答道—— “我在謀劃怎樣報複亨得利。君子報仇，十年不晚，我隻希望他在我報複之前不要死掉就行！” “我真為你感到害臊，黑思克裏夫！”我說，“懲罰惡人，那是上帝的事，我們要學著寬恕人。” “不，上帝不會得到我要的那種滿足，”他回答道，“但願我知道最好的方法！讓我一個人呆著吧，我要製定計劃。我一想到這件事，我就不覺得痛苦了。” “可是，勞克伍德先生，我倒給忘了，這些故事不能給你解悶。沒想到我這樣絮絮叨叨，真叫人掃興。你的粥涼啦，你在瞌睡打盹呢！本來隻需要幾句話，我就可以把你要聽的有關黑思克裏夫的來曆說清楚。” * * * * * |
| Thus interrupting herself, the housekeeper rose, and proceeded to lay aside her sewing; but I felt incapable of moving from the hearth, and I was very far from nodding. “Sit still, Mrs. Dean,” I cried; “do sit still another half-hour. You’ve done just right to tell the story leisurely. That is the method I like; and you must finish it in the same style. I am interested in every character you have mentioned, more or less.” “The clock is on the stroke of eleven, sir.” “No matter—I’m not accustomed to go to bed in the long hours. One or two is early enough for a person who lies till ten.” “You shouldn’t lie till ten. There’s the very prime of the morning gone long before that time. A person who has not done one-half his day’s work by ten o’clock, runs a chance of leaving the other half undone.” “Nevertheless, Mrs. Dean, resume your chair; because to-morrow I intend lengthening the night till afternoon. I prognosticate for myself an obstinate cold, at least.” “I hope not, sir. Well, you must allow me to leap over some three years; during that space Mrs. Earnshaw—” “No, no, I’ll allow nothing of the sort! Are you acquainted with the mood of mind in which, if you were seated alone, and the cat licking its kitten on the rug before you, you would watch the operation so intently that puss’s neglect of one ear would put you seriously out of temper?” “A terribly lazy mood, I should say.” “On the contrary, a tiresomely active one. It is mine, at present; and, therefore, continue minutely. I perceive that people in these regions acquire over people in towns the value that a spider in a dungeon does over a spider in a cottage, to their various occupants; and yet the deepened attraction is not entirely owing to the situation of the looker-on. They do live more in earnest, more in themselves, and less in surface, change, and frivolous external things. I could fancy a love for life here almost possible; and I was a fixed unbeliever in any love of a year’s standing. One state resembles setting a hungry man down to a single dish, on which he may concentrate his entire appetite and do it justice; the other, introducing him to a table laid out by French cooks: he can perhaps extract as much enjoyment from the whole; but each part is a mere atom in his regard and remembrance.” | 管家站起身來，自己打著岔，準備放下手中的針線活，但是我感覺我不能離開壁爐，而且我毫無一點睡意。“坐著吧，丁太太，”我大聲叫道，“坐吧，再坐半個鍾頭！你慢悠悠地講，這正合我意，你就用同樣的方式把故事講完吧。對你提到的每個人，我多多少少都感興趣。” “鍾敲十一下啦，先生。” “沒關係——我晚上不習慣十二點之前上床睡覺。對於一個睡到早上十點鍾才起床的人，淩晨一兩點鍾算是睡得夠早啦。” “你不應該睡到十點鍾才起床。一天之計在於辰。一個人要是到十點鍾還沒有做完他一天工作的一半，就大有可能剩下那一半工作一天之內也做不完。” “不管怎樣，丁太太，還是再坐一會兒吧，因為明天我打算把下午就當成夜晚提前過啦。我已經預感到我自己至少要得一場重感冒。” “我希望你不會，先生。好吧，你得讓我跳過差不多三年的時間不講，在那三年期間，俄韶太太——” “不，不，我不允許你這樣講故事！你是否熟悉這樣一種心情？如果你一個人單獨坐著，母貓在你麵前地毯上舔舐著小貓的耳朵，你那麽專心看著這個過程，結果你發現母貓忽略了舔舐小貓的一隻耳朵，就會令你脾氣大發。” “我得說，這是一種很糟糕的懶人脾性。” “恰恰相反，是一種煩人的活躍心情。目前我正是這種心情。因此，你要詳詳細細、原原本本地接著講下去。我看出來這些區域的居民，看待城裏各色人等，就好比地牢裏的蜘蛛見著茅屋裏的蜘蛛，得益不少。這並不完全是因為旁觀者的緣故，我才有了更深的吸引力。他們確實活地更認真，更在乎自己，不太在乎表麵、變化和無足輕重的外部事物。我能想象，在這兒完全有可能存在著一種一生之愛；而我過去死也不會相信，會有什麽愛情可以維持一年。一種情況像是把一個饑餓的人放在一盤菜前麵，他可以精神專注地大嚼一頓，毫不怠慢它。另一種情況，是把他介紹到法國廚師擺下的一桌筵席，他也可能從這整桌菜肴中同樣享用一番，但是每道菜在他心目中和記憶裏卻僅僅是極微小的粒子而已。” |
| “Oh! here we are the same as anywhere else, when you get to know us,” observed Mrs. Dean, somewhat puzzled at my speech. “Excuse me,” I responded; “you, my good friend, are a striking evidence against that assertion. Excepting a few provincialisms of slight consequence, you have no marks of the manners which I am habituated to consider as peculiar to your class. I am sure you have thought a great deal more than the generality of servants think. You have been compelled to cultivate your reflective faculties for want of occasions for frittering your life away in silly trifles.” Mrs. Dean laughed. “I certainly esteem myself a steady, reasonable kind of body,” she said; “not exactly from living among the hills and seeing one set of faces, and one series of actions, from year’s end to year’s end; but I have undergone sharp discipline, which has taught me wisdom; and then, I have read more than you would fancy, Mr. Lockwood. You could not open a book in this library that I have not looked into, and got something out of also: unless it be that range of Greek and Latin, and that of French; and those I know one from another: it is as much as you can expect of a poor man’s daughter. However, if I am to follow my story in true gossip’s fashion, I had better go on; and instead of leaping three years, I will be content to pass to the next summer—the summer of 1778, that is nearly twenty-three years ago.” | “啊！你跟我們混熟了之後，就知道我們這兒跟別地方的人一樣。”丁太太說，對我這番話多少有點莫名其妙。 “對不起，”我答道，“作為我的好朋友，你就是對你剛才說的這句話最好的一個反證。我一貫認為你們這類人所固有的習氣，在你身上卻沒有痕跡，你隻是有那麽一點點鄉土氣而已。我敢斷定你比一般仆人考慮事情更周全一些。你不得不培養你的反思能力，因為你沒有必要把生命白白耗在愚蠢瑣事之中。 丁太太笑了起來。 “我的確把自己看作是一個沉著理性之人，”她說，“這倒不完全是由於年複一年住在山裏，麵對著千篇一律同一組臉孔，以及毫無變化的老一套動作，而是我接受過嚴格的訓練，這教給了我智慧；而且我讀的書比你能想到的還要多，勞克伍德先生。在這個書房裏，你可找不到有哪本書我沒看過，而且每本書我都有所收獲。除過那排希臘文和拉丁文的，還有那排法文的，但那些書我也能分辨得出。對於一個窮人家的女兒，你也隻能期望這麽多。隻是，如果我按照真正諞閑話那樣接著講我的故事，那我就這樣講下去。而且不跳過那三年，就從第二年夏天講起也可以啦——一七七八年的夏天，那是差不多二十三年前。” |
