德國學生遇險記（下）

文/華盛頓·歐文 譯析/薛省燕 唐偉勝

德國學生遇險記（下）

文/華盛頓·歐文 譯析/薛省燕 唐偉勝1

On entering his apartment， the student， for the fi rst time， blushed at the scantiness2scantiness缺乏。and indifference of his dwelling. He had but one chamber—an old-fashioned saloon—heavily carved，and fantastically furnished with the remains of former magnificence， for it was one of those hotels in the quarter of the Luxembourg palace， which had once belonged to nobility. It was lumbered3lumbered (with)（用破舊東西）占滿。with books and papers， and all the usual apparatus4apparatus設備。of a student， and his bed stood in a recess5recess隱蔽處。at one end.

[15] When lights were brought， and Wolfgang had a better opportunity of contemplating6contemplate端詳，審視。the stranger， he was more than ever intoxicated7intoxicated (by)陶醉的。by her beauty. Her face was pale， but of a dazzling8dazzling炫目的，眼花繚亂的。fairness， set off by a profusion9profusion大量。of raven10raven（毛發）烏黑光亮的。hair that hung clustering11cluster 聚集。about it. Her eyes were large and brilliant，with a singular expression approaching almost to wildness. As far as her black dress permitted her shape to be seen， it was of perfect symmetry. Her whole appearance was highly striking，though she was dressed in the simplest style. The only thing approaching to an ornament which she wore， was a broad black band round her neck， clasped by diamonds.

[16] The perplexity now commenced with the student how to dispose of12dispose of應付，處理。the helpless being thus thrown upon his protection. He thought of abandoning his chamber to her， and seeking shelter for himself elsewhere. Still， he was so fascinated by her charms， there seemed to be such a spell13spell咒語，魔法。upon his thoughts and senses， that he could not tear himself from her presence. Her manner， too，was singular and unaccountable. She spoke no more of the guillotine. Her grief had abated. The attentions of the student had first won her confidence，and then， apparently， her heart. She was evidently an enthusiast like himself， and enthusiasts soon understand each other.

[17] In the infatuation of the moment，Wolfgang avowed his passion for her.He told her the story of his mysterious dream， and how she had possessed his heart before he had even seen her. She was strangely affected by his recital14recital敘述。，and acknowledges to have felt an impulse towards him equally unaccountable. It was the time for wild theory and wild actions. Old prejudices and superstitions were done away; everything was under the sway of the “Goddess of Reason.” Among other rubbish of the old times， the forms and ceremonies of marriage began to be considered super fl uous15superfluous 多余的。bonds for honorable minds.Social compacts were the vogue16vogue流行。.Wolfgang was too much of theorist not to be tainted17taint玷污。by the liberal doctrines of the day.

[18] “Why should we separate?” said he， “Our hearts are united; in the eye of reason and honor we are as one. What need is there of sordid18sordid骯臟的，丑惡的。forms to bind high souls together?”

[19] The stranger listened with emotion: she had evidently received illumination19illumination啟示。at the same school.

[20] “You have no home nor family，”continued he， “let me be everything to you， or rather let us be everything to one another. If form is necessary， form shall be observed—there is my hand. I pledge myself to you forever.”

[21] “Forever?” said the stranger， solemnly.

“Forever!” repeated Wolfgang.

The stranger clasped the hand extended to her: “Then I am yours，” murmured she， and sank upon his bosom.

[22] The next morning the student left his bride sleeping， and sallied forth20sally forth 出發。at an early hour to seek more spacious apartments suitable to the change in his situation. When he returned， he found the stranger lying with her head hanging over the bed， and one arm thrown over it. He spoke to her， but received no reply. He advanced to awaken her from her uneasy posture. On taking her hand，it was cold—there was no pulsation21pulsation（心臟、動脈等的）搏動，跳動。—her face was pallid22pallid（人、面色等）蒼白的。and ghastly23ghastly可怕的。. In a word， she was a corpse.

[23] Horri fi ed and frantic， he alarmed the house. A scene of confusion ensued.The police was summoned24summon召集。. As the officer of police entered the room， he started back on beholding the corpse.

[24] “Great heaven!” cried he， “How did this woman come here?”

“Do you know anything about her?”said Wolfgang eagerly.

“Do I?” exclaimed the officer， “She was guillotined yesterday.”

[25] He stepped forward; undid25undo解開，打開。the black collar round the neck of the corpse， and the head rolled on the fl oor!

[26] The student burst into a frenzy.“The fi end26fiend魔鬼。! The fi end has gained pos-session of me!” shrieked27shriek尖叫。he， “I am lost forever.”

[27] They tried to soothe him， but in vain. He was possessed with the frightful belief that an evil spirit had reanimated the dead body to ensnare him.He went distracted， and died in a madhouse.

[28] Here the old gentleman with the haunted head fi nished his narrative.

“And is this really a fact?” said the inquisitive28inquisitive好奇的。gentleman.

[29] “A fact not to be doubted，” replied the other. “I had it from the best authority. The student told it me himself. I saw him in a mad-house in Paris.” ■

走進公寓的那一刻，這個學生第一次為自己住所的窄小簡陋感到難為情。他只有一個房間，那是一間老式的客廳，因為它是盧森堡故宮區的旅館，曾是貴族的住所，所以房間雕刻精細，仍遺留著舊時華麗的裝潢。房間里雜亂地堆滿了書、紙和一個學生所有的日常用具，他的床在墻角的隱蔽處。

[15]打開燈后，沃爾夫岡更有機會仔細端詳這個陌生人，他越發癡迷于她的美貌。她雖然臉色蒼白，但在烏黑濃密的秀發的襯托下，她美得令人眩暈。她一雙眼睛又大又亮，帶著近乎狂亂的神情。透過她的黑色長裙可以看出，她的身段非常勻稱。她雖然衣著簡樸，但卻極其動人。她身上唯一像裝飾品的物件是脖子上帶著的一圈黑色寬邊頸帶，上面鑲滿了鉆石。

[16]現在學生開始糾結怎么安頓這個要他庇護的可憐人。他想把房間讓給她，自己再找其他住處。然而，她的風韻已使他神魂顛倒，他的軀體和魂魄都像被施了咒，怎么也離不開她。她的舉止也有些難以捉摸。她不再提起斷頭臺，她的悲傷已經減輕了些。這個學生的殷勤首先贏得了她的信任，隨后顯然還贏得了她的心。和他一樣，她顯然也是一個熱情的人，兩個熱情的人很快就彼此相通了。

[17]沃爾夫岡在意亂情迷中向她坦白了自己的愛慕之情。他告訴她自己那個神秘的夢，還說在遇見她之前就愛上了她。他這番表白令她莫名地感動，她也坦白說自己對他也有種說不清道不明的情意。那是個理論狂放、行為不羈的年代。人們已經摒棄了成見和迷信，所有的事情都由“理智女神”說了算。人們開始認為婚姻的儀式和禮節與過去的其他陳規陋習一樣，是對高貴的心靈不必要的束縛。當時社會契約正流行，沃爾夫岡本就是個十足的理論家，免不了受到那個時代自由主義思想的熏染。

[18]“我們為什么要分開呢？”他說，“我倆的心已系在一起，在理智上、道德上我們都已結合，還需要什么骯臟的形式把高尚的靈魂綁在一起嗎？”

[19]這個陌生人含情脈脈地聽著，她顯然也從這套學說中受到啟發。

[20]“你沒有家也沒有親人，”他繼續說道，“讓我成為你的一切，或者不如說，讓我們成為彼此的一切。如果形式是必要的，那就按照形式來——這是我的手，我向你承諾我永遠屬于你。”

[21]“永遠？” 陌生人鄭重地問。

“永遠！”沃爾夫岡重復道。

這個陌生人緊緊握住伸向她的手。“那么我是你的人了。”她一面呢喃著，一面倒在他的懷里。

[22]第二天一早，在他的新娘還在熟睡的時候, 這個學生就外出尋找一間適合他倆的大房子。他回來時發現這個陌生人的頭懸在床沿上，一只胳膊伸出來擋著頭。他叫她，她沒回應。他走過去喚醒她，以免她這樣睡得不舒服。他拉她的手，她的手冰冷——沒有脈搏——她的臉色慘白，如同死人一般。總之，她是一具死尸。

[23]害怕和恐慌中，他驚動了整座公寓。緊接著是一片混亂。警察也被叫來了。這個警官走進房間看到尸體的那一刻驚得直往后退。

[24“]天吶，”他叫道，“這個女人是怎么到這里來的？”

“你認識她嗎？” 沃爾夫岡急切地問道。

“認識她？”警官解釋說，“她昨天被砍頭了。”

[25]他走上前，將尸體脖子一周的黑色頸帶解開，頭顱就滾到了地上！

[26]這個學生突然發起狂來。“鬼，惡鬼已經逮住我了！”他尖叫道，“我徹底完蛋了。”

[27]他們盡力安慰他，但是沒用。他認準了一個厲鬼附在尸體上來抓他。最后他精神失常并死在了瘋人院里。

[28]到這里，這個滿腦子鬼故事的老人講完了故事。

“這個故事是真的嗎？”這個好奇的男人問道。

[29“]千真萬確，”老人說，“這個故事的來源絕對可靠，是這個學生親口告訴我的，我在巴黎的瘋人院見過他。” □

Most Famous Dogs in History (2)Bo Obama

Bo， the Portuguese water dog owned by the Obama family， is perhaps most famous for being mentioned in President Barack Obama’s 2008 acceptance speech.

“Sasha and Malia ... I love you both more than you can imagine，” Mr. Obama said. “And you have earned the new puppy that’s coming with us ... to the White House.”

The Obamas took into consideration daughter Malia’s allergies when selecting the Portugese Water Dog—it is considered a hypoallergenic breed.

The Adventure of the German Student (II)

By Washington Irving

1廣東外語外貿大學“云山杰出學者”，教授，博士，研究方向為敘事學與現當代美國文學。