-
A Friend in Need
【毛姆】
2012-06-10 21:42:34
Some
people
seem
easy
to
understand:
their
character
appears
obvious
on
first
meeting.
Appearances,
however, can be deceptive.
有些人似乎容易了解：他们的个性在初次交往时就表露无遗。然而，外表可能具有欺骗性。<
/p>
A Friend in Need
Somerset Maugham
1 For thirty years now I have been
studying my fellowmen. I do not know very much
about them. I
shrug my shoulders when
people tell me that their first impressions of a
person are always right. I
think they
must have small insight or great vanity.
For
my own part I find that
the longer I know
people the more they
puzzle me.
患难之交
萨
默塞特
·
毛姆
三十年来，我一直研究我的人类同
胞，但至今了解不多。每当有人跟我说他对一个人的第一次
印象向来不错的时候，我就耸
耸肩。我想这种人不是无知，就是自大。拿我自己来说，我发现，认识
一个人的时间越长
，我就越感到困惑。
2 These
reflections have occurred to me because I read in
this morning's paper that Edward Hyde
Burton had died at Kobe. He was a
merchant and he had been in business in Japan for
many years.
I knew him very little, but
he interested me because once he gave me a great
surprise. Unless I had
heard the story
from his own
lips, I should never have
believed that he was capable of such an
action. It was more startling because
both in appearance and manner he suggested a very
definite
type. Here if ever was a man
all of a piece. He was a tiny little fellow, not
much more than five feet
four in
height, and very slender, with white hair, a red
face much wrinkled, and blue eyes. I suppose
he was about sixty when I knew him. He
was always neatly and quietly dressed in
accordance with
his age and station.
我产生这些想法，是因为我在今天
早上的报纸上看到爱德华
·
海德
·
伯顿在神户去世的消息。他
是个商人，在日本经商多年。我跟他并不
熟，但是对他挺有兴趣，因为有一次他让我大吃一惊。要不
是听他亲口讲述这个故事，我
根本不会相信他能做出这种事来。这件事之所以特别令人惊讶，是因为
无论是外表还是风
度，他都让人想到一种非常明确的类型。要说真有表里如一的人的话，那就是此公
了。他
个子很小，身高不过
5
英尺
4
英寸，身材纤细，白头发、蓝眼睛，红红的脸上布满皱纹。我估计
自己认
识他时，他大约有
60
岁光景。他向来衣着整洁素雅，合乎他的
年龄和身份。
3
Though
his
offices
were
in
Kobe,
Burton
often
came
down
to
Yokohama.
I
happened
on
one
occasion to be spending a few days
there, waiting for a ship, and I was introduced to
him at the
British Club. We played
bridge together. He played a good game and a
generous one. He did not
talk very
much, either then or later when we were having
drinks, but what he said was sensible. He
had a quiet, dry humor. He seemed to be
popular at the club and afterwards, when he had
gone,
they described him as one of the
best. It happened that we were both staying at the
Grand Hotel
and next day he asked me to
dine with him. I met his wife, fat, elderly, and
smiling, and his two
daughters. It was
evidently a united and affectionate family. I
think the chief thing that struck me
about
Burton
was
his
kindliness.
There
was
something
very
pleasing
in
his
mild
blue
eyes.
His
voice
was
gentle;
you
could
not
imagine
that
he
could
possibly
raise
it
in
anger;
his
smile
was
benign. Here was a man
who attracted you because you felt in him a real
love for his fellows. At the
same time
he liked his game of cards and his cocktail, he
could tell with point a good and spicy story,
and in his youth he had been something
of an athlete. He was a rich man and he had made
every
penny himself. I suppose one
thing that made you like him was that he was so
small and frail; he
aroused your
instincts of protection. You felt that he could
not bear to hurt a fly.
伯顿的办事处设在神户，但他常常到横滨来。有一次，我正好因为等船，要在那里呆几天，在
英国俱乐部经人介绍与他相识。我们在一起玩桥牌。他打得不错，牌风也好。无论在玩牌
的时候，还
是在后来一起喝酒的时候，他的话都不多，但说的话却都合情合理。他挺幽默
，但并不咋呼。他在俱
乐部里似乎人缘不错，后来，在他走了以后，人家都说他是个顶呱
呱的人。事有凑巧，我们俩都住在
格兰德大酒店。第二天他请我吃饭。我见到了他的太太
――
一位肥肥胖胖、满面笑容的半老妇人
――
和他的两个女儿。这显然是和睦恩爱的一家人。我想，伯顿当时给我印象最深的主
要还是他这个人和
善。他那双温和的蓝眼睛有种令人愉快的神情。他说话的声音轻柔；你
无法想象他会提高嗓门大发雷
霆；他的笑容和蔼可亲。这个人吸引你，是因为你从他身上
感到他对别人的真正的爱。同时他也喜欢
玩牌，喝鸡尾酒，他能绘声绘色地讲个来劲儿的
段子什么的，他年轻时多少还是个运动员呢。他是个
阔佬，但他的每一个便士都是自己挣
来的。我想，人们喜欢他还有一个原因，那就是他非常瘦小、脆
弱，容易引起人们的恻隐
之心。你觉得他甚至连只蚂蚁都不忍伤害。
4 One afternoon
I was sitting in the lounge of the Grand Hotel
when Burton came in and seated
himself
in the chair next to mine.
5
6
He
clapped
his
hands
for
a
boy
and
ordered
two
gin
fizzes.
As
the
boy
brought
them
a
man
passed
along the street outside and seeing me waved his
hand.
7
8
9
10
一天下
午，我正坐在格兰德大酒店的大堂里，伯顿走了进来，在我旁边的椅子里坐下。
“
喝一点
，怎么样？
”
他拍了拍手招呼侍者过来，
要了两杯
杜松子汽酒。
侍者端来酒的时候，
有个人从外面街上走过，
见到我招了下手。
“
你认识特纳吗？
< br>”
在我点头致意的时候，伯顿问道。
“
我是在
俱乐部里认识他的。听说他是个靠国内寄钱过日子的人。
”
“
是呀，
我想是的。在这儿这种人可不少。
”
“
他桥牌打得不错。
”
11
was the best bridge player I ever
met. I suppose you never came across
him in London. Lenny
Burton he called
himself. I believe he'd belonged to some very good
clubs.
“
这种人一般都玩得不
错
。去年这里有一个人，凑巧还和我同姓，我从来没有遇到过一个桥牌打得那么好的高手。我想你在
伦敦没有碰见过他。他说他叫伦尼
·
伯顿。我相信，他
加入过一些相当高级的俱乐部呢。
”
12
13
was
quite
a
remarkable
player.
He
seemed
to
have
an
instinct
about
the
cards.
It
was
uncanny. I used to play
with him a lot. He was in Kobe for some
time.
14 Burton sipped his gin fizz.
“
嗯，我
实在不记得这个名字。
”
“
他称得上是桥牌高手。好像对牌有
一种本能似的，简直神了。我那会儿常和他一起玩牌。他
在神户住了一段时间。
”
伯顿抿了一口杜松子汽酒。
15
rather
a
funny
story,'
he
said.
'He
wasn't
a
bad
chap.
I
liked
him.
He
was
always
well-dressed
and
smart-looking.
He
was
handsome
in
a
way
with
curly
hair
and
pink-and-white
cheeks. Women
thought a lot of him. There was no harm in him,
you know, he was only wild. Of
course
he drank too much. Those sort of fellows always
do. A bit of money used to come on for him
once a quarter and he made a bit more
by card-playing. He won a good deal of mine, I
know that.
“
说来也是件有趣的事，
”
他说。
“
他人不坏。我挺喜欢他。他总是衣冠楚楚，样子挺帅。长得
也算英俊，蜷曲的头发，两颊白里透红。女人都对他着迷。你知道，他没有什么害人之处，就是野了<
/p>
点。自然，他酒喝得太凶了。这种人总是这样。他每个季度收到一小笔钱，靠打牌再赚一点
。他赢了
我不少钱，这我可知道。
”
16
Burton
gave
a
kindly
chuckle.
I
knew
from
my
own
experience
that
he
could
lose
money
at
bridge with a good grace. He stroked
his shaven chin with his thin hand; the veins
stood out on it
and it was almost
transparent.
伯顿和
善地咯咯一笑。我的处世经验告诉我，他打桥牌输起钱来时一定是大大方方的。他用瘦
小
的手摸了摸剃得光光的下巴；手上青筋鼓起，手白得几乎透明。
17
suppose
that
is
why
he
came
to
me
when
he
went
broke,
that
and
the fact
that
he
was
a
namesake of
mine. He came to see me in my office one day and
asked me for a job. I was rather
surprised. He told me that there was no
more money coming from home and he wanted to work.
I
asked him how old he was.
“
大概就是因为这个，当他落得一文
不名的时候，就来找我了，再说他和我同姓。有一天，他
到我办事处来见我，要我给他个
差使。当时我颇为惊讶。他告诉我说家里不再给他寄钱了，他要干活
儿了。我问他多大年
纪。
18
19
20
21 I couldn't help
laughing.
22
afraid
I
can't
do
anything
for
you
just
yet,'
I
said.
'Come
back
and
see
me
in
another
thirty-five years,
and I'll see what I can do.'
“‘
35
，
’
他说。
“‘
你一直都干什么来着？
’
我问道。
“‘
嗯，没怎么干过事。
’
他说。
“
我禁不住笑了。
“‘
眼下
恐怕不能帮你忙了，
’
我说。
‘
你再过
35
年来找我，到时候我再看看能帮些
什么忙。
’
23
had had bad luck at cards for some
time. He hadn't been willing to stick to bridge,
he'd been playing
poker, and he'd got
trimmed. He hadn't a penny. He'd pawned everything
he had. He couldn't pay
his hotel bill
and they wouldn't give him any more credit. He was
down and out. If he couldn't get
something to do he'd have to commit
suicide.
“
他没有动弹，脸色变得相当苍白。他犹豫了一会儿，然后对我说，这一阵子他牌运一直不好。
原来他不甘心老打桥牌，便赌起扑克来，结果输了个精光。他一个子儿也没有，所有的东
西都拿去当
了。他连酒店的账都付不出，人家也不肯再赊账给他。他已经山穷水尽。要是
找不到点事干，他只好
自杀。
24
usual and he looked fifty. The girls
wouldn't have thought so much of him if they'd
seen him then.
“
我瞧了他一会儿。我能看出他已经完全垮了。这一阵子他酒喝得比以前更凶，看上去足有
50
岁。姑娘们当时要是瞧见他，准不会对他那么着迷了。
25
26
27
28
29
“‘
嗯，
你除了打牌以外，难道什么也不会干吗？
’
我问他。
“‘<
/p>
我会游泳，
’
他说。
“‘
游泳！
’
“
我几乎
以为自己听错了呢；这种回答听起来简直是牛头不对马嘴。
“‘
我读大学时曾经代表学校参加游
泳比赛。
’
30
gods at their university to be
impressed by it.
31
32
33 Pausing in his story, Burton turned
to me.
“
我听出了一点他话里的意思。上大学时自以为了不起的人我见得多了，我才不吃这套呢。
“‘<
/p>
本人年轻时也是个游泳好手，
’
我说。<
/p>
“
突然，我有了个想法。
”
伯顿停了下来，看着我。
34
35
36
beacon and
landed at the creek of Tarumi. It's over three
miles and it's rather difficult on account of
the currents round the beacon. Well, I
told my young namesake about it and I said to him
that if he'd
do it I'd give him a job.
“
你对神
户熟悉吗？
”
他问。
“
不熟悉
，
”
我说，
“
从前有一次路过那里，只呆了一个晚上。
”
“
那么，
你不会知道盐谷俱乐部吧。我年轻的时候，曾经从那里出发，游过灯塔直到垂水小溪
上岸
。一共
3
英里多路，灯塔一带有激流，游起来挺费劲。于是，我
把这事告诉了那位与我同姓的年
轻人，并对他说，要是他能游过去，我就给他一个差使。
37
38
39
40
my
shoulders. He looked at me for a
moment
and then he
nodded.
41
“
我看得出，他吓了一跳。
“‘
你不
是说你是游泳好手吗？
’
我说。
“‘
我现
在身体状况不太好，
’
他回答说。
“
我什么
也没说，只是耸了耸肩。他望了我一会儿，然后点了点头。
“‘
好吧，
’
他说了，
‘
你要我什么时候游呢？<
/p>
’
42
43
half
past
twelve
and
meet
you.
I'll
take
you
back
to
the
club
to
dress
and
then
we'll
have
lunch
together.'
44
“
我看了看表。刚过十点。
“‘
你游
这段距离大概要花一个钟头零一刻多一些。我到
12
点半开车到
小溪那里去接你，带你到
俱乐部换衣服，然后一起吃午饭。
’<
/p>
“‘<
/p>
就这样吧，
’
他说。
45
and I only just managed to get to the
creek at Tarumi at half past twelve. But I needn't
have hurried;
he never turned
up.
46
“
我们握了握手。我祝他好运，他就走了。那天上午我有好些事要办
，到
12
点半总算勉强赶到
了垂水小溪
。其实我根本用不着这么赶，他压根儿就没露面。
”
“
他临阵
脱逃了？
”
我问。
47
dissipation. The currents
round the beacon were more than he could manage.
We didn't get the
body for about three
days.
“
没有，他没有临阵脱逃。他确实出发了。当然喽，他喝酒作乐早把身体搞垮了。灯塔周围的<
/p>
激流他对付不了。大约有三天，我们都没找到尸体。
”
48
I didn't say anything for a moment or two. I was a
trifle shocked. Then I asked Burton a question.
49
50 He gave a little mild
chuckle and he looked at me with those kind and
candid blue eyes of his. He
rubbed his
chin with his hand.
51
我好一会儿什么话也没说。我感到有些震惊。然后我问了伯顿
一个问题。
“
你提出给他差使的时候，是不是知道他准会淹死？
”
他轻轻地咯咯一笑，用那双和善又坦率的蓝眼睛望着我。他用手摩挲着下巴。
“
哦，那时我的办事处可没有空缺呀。
”
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