狄更斯雙語小說:《董貝父子》第49章Part2
'Don't! don't take on, my pretty!' said the Captain, 'awast, to obleege me! He was your nat'ral born friend like, warn't he, Pet?'
Florence had no words to answer with. She only said, 'Oh, dear, dear Paul! oh, Walter!'
'The wery planks she walked on,' murmured the Captain, looking at her drooping face, 'was as high esteemed by Wal'r, as the water brooks is by the hart which never rejices! I see him now, the wery day as he was rated on them Dombey books, a speaking of her with his face a glistening with doo - leastways with his modest sentiments - like a new blowed rose, at dinner. Well, well! If our poor Wal'r was here, my lady lass - or if he could be - for he's drownded, ain't he?'
Florence shook her head.
'Yes, yes; drownded,' said the Captain, soothingly; 'as I was saying, if he could be here he'd beg and pray of you, my precious, to pick a leetle bit, with a look-out for your own sweet health. Whereby, hold your own, my lady lass, as if it was for Wal'r's sake, and lay your pretty head to the wind.'
Florence essayed to eat a morsel, for the Captain's pleasure. The Captain, meanwhile, who seemed to have quite forgotten his own dinner, laid down his knife and fork, and drew his chair to the sofa.
'Wal'r was a trim lad, warn't he, precious?' said the Captain, after sitting for some time silently rubbing his chin, with his eyes fixed upon her, 'and a brave lad, and a good lad?'
Florence tearfully assented.
'And he's drownded, Beauty, ain't he?' said the Captain, in a soothing voice.
Florence could not but assent again.
'He was older than you, my lady lass,' pursued the Captain, 'but you was like two children together, at first; wam't you?'
Florence answered 'Yes.'
'And Wal'r's drownded,' said the Captain. 'Ain't he?'
The repetition of this inquiry was a curious source of consolation, but it seemed to be one to Captain Cuttle, for he came back to it again and again. Florence, fain to push from her her untasted dinner, and to lie back on her sofa, gave him her hand, feeling that she had disappointed him, though truly wishing to have pleased him after all his trouble, but he held it in his own (which shook as he held it), and appearing to have quite forgotten all about the dinner and her want of appetite, went on growling at intervals, in a ruminating tone of sympathy, 'Poor Wal'r. Ay, ay! Drownded. Ain't he?' And always waited for her answer, in which the great point of these singular reflections appeared to consist.
The fowl and sausages were cold, and the gravy and the egg-sauce stagnant, before the Captain remembered that they were on the board, and fell to with the assistance of Diogenes, whose united efforts quickly dispatched the banquet. The Captain's delight and wonder at the quiet housewifery of Florence in assisting to clear the table, arrange the parlour, and sweep up the hearth - only to be equalled by the fervency of his protest when she began to assist him - were gradually raised to that degree, that at last he could not choose but do nothing himself, and stand looking at her as if she were some Fairy, daintily performing these offices for him; the red rim on his forehead glowing again, in his unspeakable admiration.
But when Florence, taking down his pipe from the mantel-shelf gave it into his hand, and entreated him to smoke it, the good Captain was so bewildered by her attention that he held it as if he had never held a pipe, in all his life. Likewise, when Florence, looking into the little cupboard, took out the case-bottle and mixed a perfect glass of grog for him, unasked, and set it at his elbow, his ruddy nose turned pale, he felt himself so graced and honoured. When he had filled his pipe in an absolute reverie of satisfaction, Florence lighted it for him - the Captain having no power to object, or to prevent her - and resuming her place on the old sofa, looked at him with a smile so loving and so grateful, a smile that showed him so plainly how her forlorn heart turned to him, as her face did, through grief, that the smoke of the pipe got into the Captain's throat and made him cough, and got into the Captain's eyes, and made them blink and water.
The manner in which the Captain tried to make believe that the cause of these effects lay hidden in the pipe itself, and the way in which he looked into the bowl for it, and not finding it there, pretended to blow it out of the stem, was wonderfully pleasant. The pipe soon getting into better condition, he fell into that state of repose becoming a good smoker; but sat with his eyes fixed on Florence, and, with a beaming placidity not to be described, and stopping every now and then to discharge a little cloud from his lips, slowly puffed it forth, as if it were a scroll coming out of his mouth, bearing the legend 'Poor Wal'r, ay, ay. Drownded, ain't he?' after which he would resume his smoking with infinite gentleness.
Unlike as they were externally - and there could scarcely be a more decided contrast than between Florence in her delicate youth and beauty, and Captain Cuttle with his knobby face, his great broad weather-beaten person, and his gruff voice - in simple innocence of the world's ways and the world's perplexities and dangers, they were nearly on a level. No child could have surpassed Captain Cuttle in inexperience of everything but wind and weather; in simplicity, credulity, and generous trustfulness. Faith, hope, and charity, shared his whole nature among them. An odd sort of romance, perfectly unimaginative, yet perfectly unreal, and subject to no considerations of worldly prudence or practicability, was the only partner they had in his character. As the Captain sat, and smoked, and looked at Florence, God knows what impossible pictures, in which she was the principal figure, presented themselves to his mind. Equally vague and uncertain, though not so sanguine, were her own thoughts of the life before her; and even as her tears made prismatic colours in the light she gazed at, so, through her new and heavy grief, she already saw a rainbow faintly shining in the far-off sky. A wandering princess and a good monster in a storybook might have sat by the fireside, and talked as Captain Cuttle and poor Florence talked - and not have looked very much unlike them.
The Captain was not troubled with the faintest idea of any difficulty in retaining Florence, or of any responsibility thereby incurred. Having put up the shutters and locked the door, he was quite satisfied on this head. If she had been a Ward in Chancery, it would have made no difference at all to Captain Cuttle. He was the last man in the world to be troubled by any such considerations.
So the Captain smoked his pipe very comfortably, and Florence and he meditated after their own manner. When the pipe was out, they had some tea; and then Florence entreated him to take her to some neighbouring shop, where she could buy the few necessaries she immediately wanted. It being quite dark, the Captain consented: peeping carefully out first, as he had been wont to do in his time of hiding from Mrs MacStinger; and arming himself with his large stick, in case of an appeal to arms being rendered necessary by any unforeseen circumstance.
The pride Captain Cuttle had, in giving his arm to Florence, and escorting her some two or three hundred yards, keeping a bright look-out all the time, and attracting the attention of everyone who passed them, by his great vigilance and numerous precautions, was extreme. Arrived at the shop, the Captain felt it a point of delicacy to retire during the making of the purchases, as they were to consist of wearing apparel; but he previously deposited his tin canister on the counter, and informing the young lady of the establishment that it contained fourteen pound two, requested her, in case that amount of property should not be sufficient to defray the expenses of his niece's little outfit - at the word 'niece,' he bestowed a most significant look on Florence, accompanied with pantomime, expressive of sagacity and mystery - to have the goodness to 'sing out,' and he would make up the difference from his pocket. Casually consulting his big watch, as a deep means of dazzling the establishment, and impressing it with a sense of property, the Captain then kissed his hook to his niece, and retired outside the window, where it was a choice sight to see his great face looking in from time to time, among the silks and ribbons, with an obvious misgiving that Florence had been spirited away by a back door.
'Dear Captain Cuttle,' said Florence, when she came out with a parcel, the size of which greatly disappointed the Captain, who had expected to see a porter following with a bale of goods, 'I don't want this money, indeed. I have not spent any of it. I have money of my own.'
'My lady lass,' returned the baffled Captain, looking straight down the street before them, 'take care on it for me, will you be so good, till such time as I ask ye for it?'
'May I put it back in its usual place,' said Florence, 'and keep it there?'
“啊，如果我現在有他當我哥哥的話！”弗洛倫斯喊道。
“別！別傷心了，我的寶貝！”船長說道，”停一下，我請求您！他過去是您天生的、經受過考驗的朋友，是不是，寶寶？”
弗洛倫斯沒有什麼話好回答。她只是說，”啊，親愛的，親愛的保羅呀！啊，沃爾特呀！”
“連她走過的甲板沃爾都是十分尊重的，”船長看着她那沮喪的臉孔，喃喃自語道，”就像從沒有痛快喝夠的公鹿尊敬溪水一樣！他被列入董貝公司名冊的那一天吃晚飯的時候，他談到了她，臉上閃閃發光，就像一朵剛開放的玫瑰花一樣；如果不是露珠在發光的話，那麼至少是由於他懷着純潔的感情，所以臉上才發光的。我現在就像那天看到他的情景一樣看到了他。哎呀，哎呀！如果我們可憐的沃爾現在在這裏的話，我的小姑娘夫人--或者說如果他能在這裏的話--那該多好啊，因爲他已經淹死了，是不是？”
弗洛倫斯點點頭。
“是的，是的，淹死了，”船長安慰地說道，”我剛纔說過，如果他能在這裏的話，我的寶貝，那麼他就一定會爲了您的健康，請您，求您吃一點兒。所以說，您得支撐住自己，我的小姑娘夫人，就彷彿是看在沃爾的分上一樣，並且迎着風，擡起您那漂亮的頭。”
弗洛倫斯爲了使船長高興，試着吃了一口。這時候，船長似乎完全忘記他自己的晚飯，放下餐刀和叉子，把他的椅子拉到沙發旁邊。
“沃爾是個漂亮的孩子，是不是，寶貝？”船長默默無言地坐了一會兒，擦着下巴，眼睛凝視着她，說道，”而且他又是一個勇敢的孩子，一個善良的孩子，是不是？”
弗洛倫斯眼淚汪汪地表示同意。
“他淹死了，是不是，美人兒？”船長用安慰的聲調說道。
弗洛倫斯又只好表示同意。
“他比您大一些，我的小姑娘夫人，”船長繼續說道，”但是當初你們兩人就像兩個孩子一樣，是不是？”
弗洛倫斯回答道，”是的。”
“但是沃爾特淹死了，”船長說道。”是不是？”
如果多次地重複這個問題能成爲安慰的源泉的話，那麼這可是一件稀奇的事情，但對卡特爾船長來說似乎倒真是這樣的，因爲他一次又一次地回到這個問題上。弗洛倫斯無可奈何地放棄了她這頓沒有嘗過的晚飯，向後仰靠在沙發上，把手伸給他，覺得她使他失望了，雖然她本來倒是真心誠意地想在他忙碌操勞之後讓他高興高興的；但是他把她的手握在手中（這時他的手顫抖了），似乎完全忘記了晚飯和她缺乏食慾的情況，不時用沉思的、同情的聲調低聲說道，”可憐的沃爾！是的，是的！淹死了。是不是？”每一次總等待着她的回答，好像他提這個奇怪的問題只是爲了得到回答似的。
當船長記起餐桌上還擺着菜，重新去吃時，雞和香腸已經冷了，肉汁和雞蛋調味汁已經沉澱了；他請戴奧吉尼斯來幫助，在他們的共同努力下，這頓晚宴很快就被吃完了。弗洛倫斯開始不聲不響地幫助收拾桌子，整理客廳，掃除爐灰（她開始幫助時，船長熱情地勸阻，只有這種熱情才能和她幹活時的熱情比個不相上下）；船長看到這種情形又喜又驚，最後只好自己完全不做，站在一旁看着她，彷彿她是個什麼小仙人，在優美地爲他服務似的；他由於難以形容的讚賞，額上的紅圈又發出亮光了。
但是當弗洛倫斯把他的菸斗從壁爐架上取下，遞到他手裏，請他抽菸的時候，善良的船長竟被她的關懷激動得把菸斗一直拿在手裏，彷彿他這一輩子從來沒有拿過菸斗似的。同樣，當弗洛倫斯往小碗櫃裏看看，取出方瓶，不等他請求，就給他調了一杯很好的攙水烈酒，放到他的身旁的時候，他感到自己受到極大的厚待與尊敬，紅潤的鼻子竟發白了。當他怡然自得地在菸斗中裝上菸草時，弗洛倫斯給他點着了火--船長不能反對或阻止她--，然後又回到沙發上的老位子上去，微笑着看着他；她那微笑非常可愛，充滿了感激之情，並向他十分清楚地表明：她那孤獨無助的、悲痛的心，就像她的臉一樣，完全向着他；船長看到這些情景，感動得菸斗中噴出的煙都嗆入了喉嚨，使他咳嗽，而且還薰進他的眼睛，使它們眨巴和流淚。
船長想使她相信，造成這些後果的原因隱藏在菸斗本身；他往菸斗裏看看，想要找出它；在那裏沒有找到它的時候，就假裝要把它從煙管裏吹出來；他的這些神態是極有意思的。菸斗不久就不出毛病了，於是他像一位善於抽菸的人那樣，悠閒自得地坐在那裏，眼睛凝視着弗洛倫斯，並用一種難以形容的、喜氣洋溢而又平平靜靜的神色，時常停住不抽，而從嘴中噴出一小團煙雲，這煙雲像一個紙卷似地從他嘴中慢慢舒展開來，上面寫着：”可憐的沃爾，是的，是的，他淹死了，是不是？”在這之後，他就以無比文雅的態度繼續抽着煙。
雖然他們在外表上十分不相像--弗洛倫斯是一位美麗的妙齡女郎，卡特爾船長則臉上長滿了疙瘩，粗糙，身軀魁偉、飽經風霜--，但是就不通人情世故，對世間生活的艱難與危險方面天真無知這一點來說，他們幾乎是處於同一水平。除了風與氣候之外，對於其他事情，沒有一個孩子能比卡特爾船長更缺乏經驗的；沒有一個孩子在純樸天真、容易上當、慷慨大方和深信不疑方面能超過他的了。信仰，希望與仁愛構成了他的全部性格。在這之外，還可以加上奇怪的浪漫主義；這種浪漫主義完全是非想象的，然而又完全是非現實的；它不大去考慮世俗的精明打算，也不大考慮是否切實可行。當船長坐在那裏，抽着煙，看着弗洛倫斯的時候，天知道在他心頭出現了一幅什麼樣難以相信的、以她爲主要人物的圖畫。她自己對未來生活的想法雖然不是那麼樂觀，但卻同樣的模糊與不明確；甚至就像她的眼淚把她所注視的光線折射成各種顏色一樣，她通過她的新的、沉重的悲痛，已看到一條彩虹在遠方的天空中微弱地照耀着；故事書中一位流浪的公主和一位善良的妖怪可以坐在爐邊談着話，就像卡特爾船長和可憐的弗洛倫斯在想着那樣--他們在外表上與他們兩人也並不是很不相像的。
船長絲毫沒有擔心弗洛倫斯留在身邊會有什麼困難或他將因此而承擔什麼責任。關上護窗板，鎖上門以後，他在這方面就完全無憂無慮。如果她是大法官法庭監護的少女的話，那麼對卡特爾船長來說，這也完全沒有差別。他是世界上最不爲這些考慮擔心的人。
因此，船長很愉快地抽着煙，弗洛倫斯和他按照各自的方式沉思着。當菸斗裏的煙熄滅以後，他們喝了一些茶；然後弗洛倫斯請求他把她領到鄰近的店鋪裏去買一些她迫切需要的物品。因爲天色已經很黑，所以船長就答應了；但是他首先還是小心翼翼地向外面街道上窺探了一下，就像他在躲避麥克斯廷傑太太的時候慣常做的那樣，並用大手杖武裝了自己，以便在遇到意外情況下必要時可以訴諸武力。
卡特爾船長把手遞給弗洛倫斯，護送她走了大約二、三百碼，一直機警地注視着四周；他那高度的警惕性與無數提防的措施吸引着每位從他們身旁走過的人的注意；在進行所有這些行動時，他都感到極大的自豪。到達店鋪的時候，船長出於審慎的考慮，覺得有必要在她購買物品時離開，因爲在這些物品中包括弗洛倫斯穿着的服裝；但是他事先把他錫制的茶葉罐放在櫃檯上，告訴店裏年輕的女營業員，罐裏有十四鎊兩先令，如果這些錢還不夠支付他的外甥女購置服裝的費用的話--當說到外甥女這個詞兒的時候，他意味深長地向弗洛倫斯看了一眼，同時默默地做了個機智與神祕的手勢--，那就勞駕她向他大聲喊叫一聲，他將從口袋中拿出錢來補足差額。船長好像是無意地看了看他的大表，其實他真正的目的是想在營業員面前炫耀一下他的財富，使她留下深刻的印象；然後他吻了吻他的鉤子，向他的外甥女致意；並走到櫥窗外面；他那很大的臉孔不時探進店裏，出現在絲綢與緞帶中間，顯然是因爲擔心弗洛倫斯會被人從後門拐走，他這種進進出出的美妙圖景確實是很值得一看的。
“親愛的卡特爾船長，”弗洛倫斯拿着一個小包包從店裏走出來的時候說道。這包包的體積使船長大爲失望，因爲他原希望看到一個搬運工人扛着一捆貨物跟隨在她後面的。”我確實不需要這錢。我一個錢也沒有花。我自己有錢。”
“我的小姑娘夫人，”失望的船長筆直望着前面的街道，回答道，”我是不是可以煩請您給我小心保管着，直到我問您要它的時候？”
“我可以把它放回到原先的地方，並把它保存在那裏嗎？”
弗洛倫斯問道。
