AT A SUMMER VILLA 艷遇

原作契訶夫 Translated by Constance Garnett 1886

“I LOVE YOU. You are my life, my happiness — everything to me! Forgive the avowal, but I have not the strength to suffer and be silent. I ask not for love in return, but for sympathy. Be at the old arbour at eight o’clock this evening.... To sign my name is unnecessary I think, but do not be uneasy at my being anonymous. I am young, nice-looking... what more do you want?”

“噓，不要問我是誰。有句話我藏了好久，思來想去，我只想對你說：我愛你。你是我的一切，你是我的唯一。我不奢望你的愛慕，只求你可憐我一片癡心。今晚八點，我在小亭子等你……我年輕，漂亮，哪一點你不滿意？”

When Pavel Ivanitch Vyhodtsev, a practical married man who was spending his holidays at a summer villa, read this letter, he shrugged his shoulders and scratched his forehead in perplexity.

這會兒正值夏天，范伊萬讀完這封信聳了聳肩，困惑地撓了撓頭。

“What devilry is this?” he thought. “I’m a married man, and to send me such a queer... silly letter! Who wrote it?”

“什么意思？”他想道，“我都是結(jié)了婚的人了，誰還給我寫這種東西…寫情書！這誰寫的？”

Pavel Ivanitch turned the letter over and over before his eyes, read it through again, and spat with disgust.

范伊萬把信翻來覆去檢查了一下，又從頭到尾讀了一遍，反感地啐了口唾沫。

“ ‘I love you’ “... he said jeeringly. “A nice boy she has pitched on! So I’m to run off to meet you in the arbour!... I got over all such romances and fleurs d’amour years ago, my girl.... Hm! She must be some reckless, immoral creature.... Well, these women are a set! What a whirligig — God forgive us! — she must be to write a letter like that to a stranger, and a married man, too! It’s real demoralisation!”

“嚯，還‘我愛你’……”他不屑道，“拿我當什么人了！還八點在小亭子見！嘁，小姑娘，你也不打聽打聽，我多少年前就不信這套了。真不害臊！這東西肯定不是規(guī)矩人寫的。太不像話了，一個姑娘家怎么這么沒羞沒臊的！”

In the course of his eight years of married life Pavel Ivanitch had completely got over all sentimental feeling, and he had received no letters from ladies except letters of congratulation, and so, although he tried to carry it off with disdain, the letter quoted above greatly intrigued and agitated him.

八年的婚姻生活已經(jīng)把范先生磨成了木頭人，就算有女人給他寫信也一定是恭賀新春。此時面對著這封情書，范先生有心不去想它，卻不由得興奮異常。

An hour after receiving it, he was lying on his sofa, thinking:

收著信一個小時過后，他倒在沙發(fā)上，思索道：

“Of course I am not a silly boy, and I am not going to rush off to this idiotic rendezvous; but yet it would be interesting to know who wrote it! Hm.... It is certainly a woman’s writing.... The letter is written with genuine feeling, and so it can hardly be a joke.... Most likely it’s some neurotic girl, or perhaps a widow... widows are frivolous and eccentric as a rule. Hm.... Who could it be?”

“我又不傻，去肯定是沒必要去的，可這封信是誰寫的呢？依我看…肯定是哪個女的寫的…寫得還挺真，不太像是玩笑…可能是哪個小姑娘吧，要么就是寡婦——對，寡婦向來不計較這些。唉呀…會是誰呢？”

What made it the more difficult to decide the question was that Pavel Ivanitch had not one feminine acquaintance among all the summer visitors, except his wife.

最費解的是，和范先生熟識的女人只有他老婆。

“It is queer . . .” he mused. “ ‘I love you!’. . . When did she manage to fall in love? Amazing woman! To fall in love like this, apropos of nothing, without making any acquaintance and finding out what sort of man I am.... She must be extremely young and romantic if she is capable of falling in love after two or three looks at me.... But... who is she?”

“奇了怪了…”他琢磨道，“‘我愛你’…她怎么就愛我了呢？女人哪，真摸不透！壓根沒好好了解過我，她怎么就愛上我了呢…這肯定是個小姑娘，還是特別單純那種，光是看了幾眼就迷上我了…可問題是…她是誰呢？”

Pavel Ivanitch suddenly recalled that when he had been walking among the summer villas the day before, and the day before that, he had several times been met by a fair young lady with a light blue hat and a turn-up nose. The fair charmer had kept looking at him, and when he sat down on a seat she had sat down beside him....

范伊萬突然想到前兩天出門的時候?？匆娨粋€姑娘，頭頂著天藍色的帽子，朝天鼻，年紀輕輕，長得那叫一個漂亮。這姑娘老是看他，還特意和他挨著坐……

“Can it be she?” Vyhodtsev wondered. “It can’t be! Could a delicate ephemeral creature like that fall in love with a worn-out old eel like me? No, it’s impossible!”

“她？”范先生心想道，“不會吧！她能看上我這個糟老頭子？不不不，不可能！”

At dinner Pavel Ivanitch looked blankly at his wife while he meditated:

飯桌上，范先生直盯著他老婆走神：

“She writes that she is young and nice-looking.... So she’s not old.... Hm.... To tell the truth, honestly I am not so old and plain that no one could fall in love with me. My wife loves me! Besides, love is blind, we all know. . . .”

“寫信的說自己年輕漂亮…這么說年紀肯定不大…哎呀，也難說，其實咱也沒那么老，再怎么說也有點女人緣。我老婆不就挺中意我的嗎！再者說情令智昏哪，說不定人家還真就……”

“What are you thinking about?” his wife asked him.

“想什么呢？”范太太問道。

“Oh. . . my head aches a little. . .” Pavel Ivanitch said, quite untruly.

“哦，我，我頭疼，頭疼…哎喲喲……”范伊萬搪塞道。

He made up his mind that it was stupid to pay attention to such a nonsensical thing as a love-letter, and laughed at it and at its authoress, but — alas! — powerful is the “dacha”enemy of mankind! After dinner, Pavel Ivanitch lay down on his bed, and instead of going to sleep, reflected:

得，哪有這種好事，范先生一咬牙，打定主意不想情書的事了，可人一閑著哪能不胡思亂想呢！吃完飯，范先生躺在床上，腦子里又在琢磨：

“But there, I daresay she is expecting me to come! What a silly! I can just imagine what a nervous fidget she’ll be in and how her tournure will quiver when she does not find me in the arbour! I shan’t go, though.... Bother her!”

“不行，萬一她等我去呢！這怎么成？要是她去了發(fā)現(xiàn)我不在，這姑娘得多難過??！不，不能去，去了多不好意思！”

But, I repeat, powerful is the enemy of mankind.

照他這個琢磨法，難怪說麻煩都是自找的呢。

“Though I might, perhaps, just out of curiosity. . .” he was musing, half an hour later. “I might go and look from a distance what sort of a creature she is.... It would be interesting to have a look at her! It would be fun, and that’s all! After all, why shouldn’t I have a little fun since such a chance has turned up?”

“唉呀，不去我心里頭老惦記著……”過了半個鐘頭他還在琢磨，“要不我過去遠遠地看一眼吧…反正就是瞅瞅長什么樣唄，有什么大不了的！咱行得正坐得端，去看看怎么了？”

Pavel Ivanitch got up from his bed and began dressing. “What are you getting yourself up so smartly for?” his wife asked, noticing that he was putting on a clean shirt and a fashionable tie.

范先生爬起床，穿起了衣服?！斑@是去見誰啊，打扮得這么漂亮？”范太太看見他身上的新衣裳，問道。

“Oh, nothing.... I must have a walk.... My head aches.... Hm.”

“沒事，我，我頭有點疼…出去走走。”

Pavel Ivanitch dressed in his best, and waiting till eight o’clock, went out of the house. When the figures of gaily dressed summer visitors of both sexes began passing before his eyes against the bright green background, his heart throbbed.

范先生打扮得神氣十足，等到八點準時出了門。一路上看著衣著光鮮的男女來來往往，他的心止不住地顫。

“Which of them is it? . . .” he wondered, advancing irresolutely. “Come, what am I afraid of? Why, I am not going to the rendezvous! What... a fool! Go forward boldly! And what if I go into the arbour? Well, well... there is no reason I should.”

“哪一個?。俊彼呄脒呠P躇地走著，“停，打住。怕什么？咱又不是和人家約會！別怕…走！抬頭挺胸大步走！要不進亭子里看看？這…算了吧，進去干嘛?！?/p>

Pavel Ivanitch’s heart beat still more violently.... Involuntarily, with no desire to do so, he suddenly pictured to himself the half-darkness of the arbour.... A graceful fair girl with a little blue hat and a turn-up nose rose before his imagination. He saw her, abashed by her love and trembling all over, timidly approach him, breathing excitedly, and... suddenly clasping him in her arms.

范伊萬的心跳得更厲害了…他忽忽悠悠想象出一幅畫面：自己正坐在昏暗的亭子里，那個戴藍帽子，長著朝天鼻的美女紅著臉來到他面前，渾身顫抖、氣喘連連，邁著小碎步慢慢向他靠近，剎那間…她一下子投入了他的懷抱。

“If I weren’t married it would be all right . . .” he mused, driving sinful ideas out of his head. “Though... for once in my life, it would do no harm to have the experience, or else one will die without knowing what.... And my wife, what will it matter to her? Thank God, for eight years I’ve never moved one step away from her.... Eight years of irreproachable duty! Enough of her.... It’s positively vexatious.... I’m ready to go to spite her!”

“我要是還單著就好了……”范先生動起了歪心思，“人活一世什么事總得經(jīng)歷經(jīng)歷吧，不然就這么死了多可惜…有老婆，有老婆怎么了？一說我就來氣，我在她身邊規(guī)矩了八年，可把我憋屈壞了！去她的吧…管她干嘛！”

Trembling all over and holding his breath, Pavel Ivanitch went up to the arbour, wreathed with ivy and wild vine, and peeped into it.... A smell of dampness and mildew reached him....

范先生激動得直哆嗦，屏著氣來到了藤蔓環(huán)繞的亭子前，往里瞅了一眼…一股濕漉漉的霉味直撲鼻子……

“I believe there’s nobody . . .” he thought, going into the arbour, and at once saw a human silhouette in the corner.

“估計沒人……”他心想著進了亭子，立馬看見角落里有個人影。

The silhouette was that of a man.... Looking more closely, Pavel Ivanitch recognised his wife’s brother, Mitya, a student, who was staying with them at the villa.

還是個男的……定睛一瞧，范伊萬發(fā)現(xiàn)是自己小舅子，鎖兒，這小子還在念書，這一陣跟著他們兩口子一塊住。

“Oh, it’s you . . .” he growled discontentedly, as he took off his hat and sat down.

“喲，是你啊……”他悶悶道，順手摘掉帽子坐下了。

“Yes, it’s I”... answered Mitya.

“是我……”鎖兒答道。

Two minutes passed in silence.

二人沉默了一會兒。

“Excuse me, Pavel Ivanitch,” began Mitya: “but might I ask you to leave me alone??... I am thinking over the dissertation for my degree and. . . and the presence of anybody else prevents my thinking.”

“我說，姐夫，”鎖兒開口道，“您能不能讓我一個人靜靜？我在構(gòu)思論文，您在這兒打擾我思路。”

“You had better go somewhere in a dark avenue. . .” Pavel Ivanitch observed mildly. “It’s easier to think in the open air, and, besides,... er... I should like to have a little sleep here on this seat. . . It’s not so hot here. . . .”

“你另找個清凈地方不就得了?！狈兑寥f回道，“出去換換空氣多好，再者說，我…天太熱，我想在這兒睡會兒……”

“You want to sleep, but it’s a question of my dissertation . . .” Mitya grumbled. “The dissertation is more important.”

“您哪兒睡不是睡，我還得想論文呢……”鎖兒抱怨道，“論文不比您睡覺重要?！?/p>

Again there was a silence. Pavel Ivanitch, who had given the rein to his imagination and was continually hearing footsteps, suddenly leaped up and said in a plaintive voice:

二人又不說話了。范伊萬滿腦子白日夢，總覺得外頭有腳步聲，只見他一躍而起，厲聲道：

“Come, I beg you, Mitya! You are younger and ought to consider me.... I am unwell and... I need sleep.... Go away!”

“給我個面子，你就走吧，鎖兒！你這年輕人怎么一點規(guī)矩都不懂…我中暑了，得在這兒睡一覺，你讓讓能怎么了！”

“That’s egoism.... Why must you be here and not I? I won’t go as a matter of principle.”

“憑什么？我憑什么非得給你騰地兒？我又不欠你的。”

“Come, I ask you to! Suppose I am an egoist, a despot and a fool... but I ask you to go! For once in my life I ask you a favour! Show some consideration!”

“行個方便吧！我說錯話你多原諒，算姐夫求求你，你就走吧！”

Mitya shook his head.

鎖兒搖了搖頭。

“What a beast! . . .” thought Pavel Ivanitch. “That can’t be a rendezvous with him here! It’s impossible with him here!”

“死小子！”范伊萬心想道，“難不成是約的是他？不會吧！”

“I say, Mitya,” he said, “I ask you for the last time.... Show that you are a sensible, humane, and cultivated man!”

“鎖兒，”他說道，“我最后求你一次…你要是識相就趕緊出去！”

“I don’t know why you keep on so!”... said Mitya, shrugging his shoulders. “I’ve said I won’t go, and I won’t. I shall stay here as a matter of principle. . . .”

“我說你差不多了吧！”鎖兒煩躁道，“都說了我不走，我也不打算走。反正我就賴這兒了……”

At that moment a woman’s face with a turn-up nose peeped into the arbour....

就在這時，一位長著朝天鼻的姑娘朝亭子里看了一眼……

Seeing Mitya and Pavel Ivanitch, it frowned and vanished.

一瞅見鎖兒和范伊萬，她皺了皺眉，不見了。

“She is gone!” thought Pavel Ivanitch, looking angrily at Mitya. “She saw that blackguard and fled! It’s all spoilt!”

“完了！”范伊萬氣沖沖地瞪著鎖兒，“都怨這個瞎搗亂的！這事算吹了！”

After waiting a little longer, he got up, put on his hat and said:

又等了一會兒，范伊萬站起身，戴上帽子，說道：

“You’re a beast, a low brute and a blackguard! Yes! A beast! It’s mean... and silly! Everything is at an end between us!”

“給你臉了！掃把星！你個王八蛋！看你干的好事！本來好好的都讓你攪和了！”

“Delighted to hear it!” muttered Mitya, also getting up and putting on his hat. “Let me tell you that by being here just now you’ve played me such a dirty trick that I’ll never forgive you as long as I live.”

“你不用嘰歪！”鎖兒嘟囔著也站了起來，戴好帽子說道，“今晚這事我記著了，我跟你沒完！”

Pavel Ivanitch went out of the arbour, and beside himself with rage, strode rapidly to his villa. Even the sight of the table laid for supper did not soothe him.

范伊萬邁著大步氣呼呼地回了家。連一桌子好菜也沒能幫他消氣。

“Once in a lifetime such a chance has turned up,” he thought in agitation; “and then it’s been prevented! Now she is offended... crushed!”

“一輩子也碰不到的機會啊，”他憤恨地想道，“就這么黃了！完了，人家肯定不樂意了！”

At supper Pavel Ivanitch and Mitya kept their eyes on their plates and maintained a sullen silence.... They were hating each other from the bottom of their hearts.

晚飯時分，范伊萬和鎖兒只顧著吃，一句話也不說……兩人都恨得牙癢癢。

“What are you smiling at?” asked Pavel Ivanitch, pouncing on his wife. “It’s only silly fools who laugh for nothing!”

“你笑什么？”范伊萬問他太太，“有什么好笑的！”

His wife looked at her husband’s angry face, and went off into a peal of laughter.

范太太看了看他一臉的火氣，噗嗤一聲笑得差點把飯噴出來。

“What was that letter you got this morning?” she asked.

“今早上是不是收著人家的信了？”她問道。

“I?... I didn’t get one. . . .” Pavel Ivanitch was overcome with confusion. “You are inventing. . . imagination.”

“信？什么信？我，我沒收著……”范伊萬被問蒙了，“別瞎說…哪兒來的信?！?/p>

“Oh, come, tell us! Own up, you did! Why, it was I sent you that letter! Honour bright, I did! Ha ha!”

“還裝呢！別裝了！我給你寫的我還不知道嗎！笑死我了，看把你急的，哈哈哈！”

Pavel Ivanitch turned crimson and bent over his plate. “Silly jokes,” he growled.

范伊萬氣得血往上涌，悶頭扒拉著盤子?！吧窠?jīng)病?！彼麣鈶嵉馈?/p>

“But what could I do? Tell me that.... We had to scrub the rooms out this evening, and how could we get you out of the house? There was no other way of getting you out.... But don’t be angry, stupid.... I didn’t want you to be dull in the arbour, so I sent the same letter to Mitya too! Mitya, have you been to the arbour?”

“別這樣，你聽我解釋。家里晚上要大掃除，得想個辦法把你趕出去。我能有什么辦法？不就只能這樣嘍……消消氣，是我不好……我怕你一個人待著沒勁，還給鎖兒也寫了一封呢！鎖兒，你去亭子了嗎？”

Mitya grinned and left off glaring with hatred at his rival.

鎖兒咧嘴一笑，恨恨地瞪了一眼自己的情敵。