SELECTED STORIES BY O.HENRY欧•亨利短篇小说选集

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A SERVICE OF LOVE爱的奉献

When one loves one's Art no service seems too hard.
当一个人热爱他所认准的艺术时，任何奉献都是不难做出的。
That is our premise. This story shall draw a conclusion from it, and show at the same time that the premise is incorrect. That will be a new thing in logic, and a feat in story-telling some-what older than the great wall of China.
这是我们的前提。这篇故事会在这个前提得出结论的同时证明它是错误的。就逻辑学来说这是个新兴艺术，可就文学来说，这可是一门比中国的万里长城还要古老的艺术。
Joe Larrabee came out of the post-oak flats of the Middle West pulsing with a genius for pictorial art. At six he drew a picture of the town pump with a prominent citizen passing it hastily. This effort was framed and hung in the drug store window by the side of the ear of corn with an uneven number of rows. At twenty he left for New York with a flowing necktie and a capital tied up somewhat closer.
乔·拉雷毕来自中西部槲树参天的平原，他有着极高的绘画天赋。六岁的时候他就画了一幅画，画的是镇上的水泵，画上还有一个当地颇有声望的村民急匆匆从水泵旁边经过的情景。这件作品后来被装裱起来挂在了药房的橱窗里，药房旁边零落的长着几棵玉米，玉米棒子已经开始抽穗了。当他20岁的时侯，他离开家乡来到纽约。脖子上系着条领带，贴身藏着一个钱包。
Delia Caruthers did things in six octaves so promisingly in a pine-tree village in the South that her relatives chipped in enough in her chip hat for her to go“North”and“finish.”They could not see her f–, but that is our story.
德丽雅·加鲁塞斯来自南方一个长满松树的小村庄，她在六音阶方面大有前途，所以她的亲戚们给她凑了些学费，让她前往“北方”去“深造”。他们没能看到她完成学业，但这就是我们要讲的故事。
Joe and Delia met in an atelier where a number of art and music students had gathered to discuss chiaroscuro, Wagner, music, Rembrandt's works, pictures, Waldteufel, wall paper, Chopin and Oolong.
乔和德丽雅在一间画室相遇。那儿经常有许多研究美术和音乐的学生聚在一起，彼此讨论绘画的明暗对照法、瓦格纳、音乐、伦勃朗的作品、制图、瓦尔特杜弗、壁纸、肖邦以及乌龙茶。
Joe and Delia became enamoured one of the other, or each of the other, as you please, and in a short time were married–for (see above), when one loves one's Art no service seems too hard.
乔和德丽雅倾慕彼此的才华，或说他们一见钟情，随你怎么说。很快他们就结婚了——当一个人爱好他所认准的艺术时，任何奉献都不难做出。
Mr. and Mrs. Larrabee began housekeeping in a flat. It was a lonesome flat–something like the A sharp way down at the left-hand end of the keyboard. And they were happy; for they had their Art, and they had each other. And my advice to the rich young man would be–sell all thou hast, and give it to the poor–janitor for the privilege of living in a flat with your Art and your Delia.
拉雷毕夫妇在一套公寓里开始了他们的家庭生活。那是一套颇为冷清的公寓——有点像钢琴键盘中最左端直线降低的A音。但是他们过得非常幸福，因为他们拥有所热爱的艺术，同时又拥有彼此。在此我也劝告那些有钱的年轻人——卖掉你所有的财产，把它分给穷苦的看门人，这样你就能专注的跟你所热爱的艺术和心爱的爱人共同生活了。
Flat-dwellers shall indorse my dictum that theirs is the only true happiness. If a home is happy it cannot fit too close–let the dresser collapse and become a billiard table; let the mantel turn to a rowing machine, the escritoire to a spare bedchamber, the washstand to an upright piano; let the four walls come together, if they will, so you and your Delia are between. But if home be the other kind, let it be wide and long–enter you at the Golden Gate, hang your hat on Hatteras, your cape on Cape Horn and go out by the Labrador.
公寓的住户们一定赞成我的论断：他们的幸福是惟一真正的幸福。只要家庭幸福，房间再小又有什么关系呢？——梳妆台坍下来，可以当作台球桌；壁炉架可以改为划船练习器；写字桌可以充当临时卧榻；洗脸架则可用来当立式钢琴。如果四堵墙有可能合拢的话，别担心，反正你和你的德丽雅仍在其中没有分离。可如果家庭是另一个样子，那么房子再宽敞也没有用——你从金门 1 进去，把帽子挂在哈得拉斯，把披肩挂在合恩角，然后穿过拉布拉多出去了。
Joe was painting in the class of the great Magister–you know his fame. His fees are high; his lessons are light–his high-lights have brought him renown. Delia was studying under Rosenstock–you know his repute as a disturber of the piano keys.
乔在著名的马杰斯脱班上学画画——这个班名气显赫，同时学费也十分的不菲，但课程是很轻松的——由于美名远扬而使然。德丽雅在罗森斯托克手下学习，她的老师爱跟键盘较劲是出了名的。
They were mighty happy as long as their money lasted. So is every–but I will not be cynical. Their aims were very clear and defined. Joe was to become capable very soon of turning out pictures that old gentlemen with thin side-whiskers and thick pocketbooks would sandbag one another in his studio for the privilege of buying. Delia was to become familiar and then contemptuous with Music, so that when she saw the orchestra seats and boxes unsold she could have sore throat and lobster in a private dining-room and refuse to go on the stage.
有钱时，他们过得很幸福。谁不这样呢？——不是因为我愤世嫉俗。他们的艺术目标清晰明了。乔很快就会有精彩的画作问世，到时候那些鬓须稀疏而荷包殷实的老绅士，都会争先恐后地挤到他的画室里来，以购买他的作品为荣。德丽雅先是精通音乐，后来她简直可以说是如鱼得水。当她看到剧院大厅和包厢里有空位时，就推诿说嗓子疼而拒绝登台，随后去一家私人餐厅享受美味的龙虾。
But the best, in my opinion, was the home life in the little flat– the ardent, voluble chats after the day's study; the cozy dinners and fresh, light breakfasts; the interchange of ambitions–ambitions interwoven each with the other's or else inconsiderable–the mutual help and inspiration; and–overlook my artlessness–stuffed olives and cheese sandwiches at 11 p.m.
但在我看来，最美好的时光还是在那间小公寓里的家庭生活：追求艺术激情四溢的心灵体会；一天的学习后绵绵不绝的情话；令人惬意的晚饭和怡人适口的早餐；关于理想抱负的交流——他们的理想抱负是交织在一起的，否则就没有了意义——相互之间的帮助和鼓励。还有，恕我直言——晚上11点钟的菜裹肉片和奶酪三明治。
But after a while Art flagged. It sometimes does, even if some switch man doesn't flag it. Everything going out and nothing coming in, as the vulgarians say. Money was lacking to pay Mr. Magister and Herr Rosenstock their prices. When one loves one's Art no service seems too hard. So, Delia said she must give music lessons to keep the chafing dish bubbling.
但是没过多久，艺术的醇美味道就开始变味了。即使意志坚定的人没有去刻意动摇，但生活就是如此。正如俗话所说，坐吃山空。他们已经没有钱支付马杰斯脱和罗森斯托克两位先生的学费了。当一个人热爱他所认准的艺术时，任何奉献都不难做出。于是，德丽雅说，她要去找份教音乐的家教，那样他们盘子里就会一直有热气腾腾的饭菜了。
For two or three days she went out canvassing for pupils. One evening she came home elated.
为了招揽学生，她在外面奔走了两三天。一天晚上，她欢欣雀跃地回到了家里。
“Joe, dear,”she said, gleefully,“I've a pupil. And, oh, the loveliest people! General–General A. B. Pinkney's daughter–on Seventy-first street. Such a splendid house, Joe–you ought to see the front door! Byzantine I think you would call it. And inside! Oh, Joe, I never saw anything like it before.
“乔，亲爱的，”她高兴地说，“我已经收到一个学生啦！哟，那真是最好的人家。一位将军——A·B·品克奈将军的女儿，住在第七十一街。他们的房子真是富丽堂皇！乔——你真该看看那大门，我想你会称它为拜占庭式大门 2 。还有屋子里面，喔！乔，我算是大开眼界了。
“My pupil is his daughter Clementina. I dearly love her already. She's a delicate thing–dresses always in white; and the sweetest, simplest manners! Only eighteen years old. I'm to give three lessons a week; and, just think, Joe! $5 a lesson. I don't mind it a bit; for when I get two or three more pupils I can resume my lessons with Herr Rosenstock. Now, smooth out that wrinkle between your brows, dear, and let's have a nice supper.”
“我的学生，品克奈将军的女儿克蕾门蒂娜，我可真喜欢她。她是个娇弱的姑娘——总是穿着白色的衣服，她的一言一行都那么天真可爱！她才18岁，我一星期给她上三次课。你想想看，乔，一次课五块钱。尽管数目不大，不过我一点儿也不介意，等我再多找两三个学生，我就又可以到罗森斯托克先生那儿去学习了。好了亲爱的，别再皱眉头啦，让我们好好享受晚餐吧。”
“That's all right for you, Dele,”said Joe, attacking a can of peas with a carving knife and a hatchet,“but how about me? Do you think I'm going to let you hustle for wages while I philander in the regions of high art? Not by the bones of Benvenuto Cellini! I guess I can sell papers or lay cobblestones, and bring in a dollar or two.”
“这对你来说不错，德丽，”乔说，同时用切肉刀和短柄小斧打开一罐豌豆罐头，“可是，你认为我会忍心让你四处奔波，而自己却在艺术的殿堂里追逐所谓的艺术吗？我以班范纽都·切利尼 3 的尸骨发誓，这绝不可能！我想我可以卖卖报纸，或者去铺石子，那样的话至少也可以挣个一两块钱。”
Delia came and hung about his neck.
德丽雅走过来，搂住他的脖子。
“Joe, dear, you are silly. You must keep on at your studies. It is not as if I had quit my music and gone to work at something else. While I teach I learn. I am always with my music. And we can live as happily as millionaires on $15 a week. You mustn't think of leaving Mr. Magister.”
“乔，亲爱的，你真傻！你必须继续你的学业。我并没有放弃音乐去干别的事，我可以边教边学。我永远跟我的音乐在一起。而且我们一星期可以有15块钱的收入，这样我们就可以像百万富翁一样快乐的生活了。你千万不能有离开马杰斯脱先生的想法啊。”
“All right,”said Joe, reaching for the blue scalloped vegetable dish.“But I hate for you to be giving lessons. It isn't Art. But you're a trump and a dear to do it.”
“那好吧，”乔边说边伸手去拿那个蓝色的扇贝形碟子。“但是我讨厌你去做什么家教，那不是艺术。但这恐怕是我们追求艺术的过程中不得不出的一张王牌了！”
“When one loves one's Art no service seems too hard,”said Delia.
“当一个人热爱他所认准的艺术时，做任何奉献都不难！”德丽雅说。
“Magister praised the sky in that sketch I made in the park,”said Joe.“And Tinkle gave me permission to hang two of them in his window. I may sell one if the right kind of a moneyed idiot sees them.”
“马杰斯脱称赞了我在公园画的那幅素描里天空的部分。”乔说，“而且丁克尔也已经答应让我在他的橱窗里挂两幅画。要是恰好有有钱的白痴看上它，我就能卖掉它们了。”
“I'm sure you will,”said Delia, sweetly.“And now let's be thankful for Gen. Pinkney and this veal roast.”
“我相信你一定行的，”德丽雅甜蜜地说，“现在，先让我们来感谢品克奈将军和这盘烤小牛肉吧。”
During all of the next week the Larrabees had an early breakfast. Joe was enthusiastic about some morning-effect sketches he was doing in Central Park, and Delia packed him off breakfasted, coddled, praised and kissed at 7 o'clock. Art is an engaging mistress. It was most times 7 o'clock when he returned in the evening.
接下来的整整一周，拉雷毕夫妇每天早早地便开始用餐。乔急于要去中央公园画几张具有晨光效果的速写，而德丽雅则要在早饭后撒一下娇、或者说几句赞美的话，然后和他吻别，在7点钟的时候送他出门。艺术真是个迷人的情妇。等他回到家时，大多数时候都已经是晚上7点钟了。
At the end of the week Delia, sweetly proud but languid, triumphantly tossed three five-dollar bills on the 8x10 (inches) centre table of the 8x10 (feet) flat parlour.
到了周末，自豪而又疲倦的德丽雅得意洋洋地把三张五块钱的钞票扔在公寓客厅正中的那张宽八英寸、长十英寸的桌子上。
“Sometimes,”she said, a little wearily,“Clementina tries me. I'm afraid she doesn't practise enough, and I have to tell her the same things so often. And then she always dresses entirely in white, and that does get monotonous. But Gen. Pinkney is the dearest old man! I wish you could know him, Joe. He comes in sometimes when I am with Clementina at the piano–he is a widower, you know–and stands there pulling his white goatee.‘And how are the semiquavers and the demi-semiquavers progressing?’ he always asks.
“有时候，”她有些厌倦地说，“克蕾门蒂娜也真够折腾人的。也许是她练得不够充分吧，我不得不一遍又一遍地教她同一个问题。而且她老是穿一身白，也让人感觉挺单调的。不过品克奈将军倒是一个很讨人喜欢的老头儿！我希望你能认识他，乔。我和克蕾门蒂娜练钢琴的时候，他有时候会进来看看，他是个鳏夫——经常会站在那儿捋他的白色山羊胡子。‘十六分音符和三十二分音符教得怎么样啦？’他总是这样问。
“I wish you could see the wainscoting in that drawing-room, Joe! And those Astrakhan rug portieres. And Clementina has such a funny little cough. I hope she is stronger than she looks. Oh, I really am getting attached to her, she is so gentle and high bred. Gen. Pinkney's brother was once Minister to Bolivia.”
“我真希望你能看看他们客厅的护壁板，乔！还有阿斯特拉罕呢门帘。克蕾门蒂娜总是咳嗽。我希望她能比看起来更强壮些。喔，我真是越来越喜欢她了，她是那么的温柔，又那么有教养。品克奈将军有一个弟弟曾经是驻波利维亚的公使。”
And then Joe, with the air of a Monte Cristo, drew forth a ten, a five, a two and a one–all legal tender notes–and laid them beside Delia's earnings.
接着，乔摆出基度山伯爵的架势，掏出一张10元、5元、2元和1元的票子——全是柔软的合法钞票——放在了德丽雅挣来的钱旁边。
“Sold that watercolour of the obelisk to a man from Peoria,”he announced overwhelmingly.
“我把那幅方尖碑的水彩画卖给了一个从庇奥利亚 4 来的人”，他郑重地宣布。
“Don't joke with me,”said Delia,“not from Peoria!”
“别开玩笑了，”德丽雅说，“不可能是庇奥利亚来的！”
“All the way. I wish you could see him, Dele. Fat man with a woollen muffler and a quill toothpick. He saw the sketch in Tinkle's window and thought it was a windmill at first. He was game, though, and bought it anyhow. He ordered another–an oil sketch of the Lackawanna freight depot–to take back with him. Music lessons! Oh, I guess Art is still in it.”
“千真万确！我希望你能见见他，德丽。他体型偏胖，围着羊毛围巾，叼着一根羽毛管牙签。他在丁克尔的橱窗里看到了那张素描，刚开始他还以为是风车呢。不过最后他还是心甘情愿把它买了下来。他还预定了一幅——勒加黄那货运车站的油画——准备带回家。音乐课！哦，我想艺术仍然存于其中。”
“I'm so glad you've kept on,”said Delia, heartily.“You're bound to win, dear. Thirty-three dollars! We never had so much to spend before. We'll have oysters to-night.”
“我很高兴你能一直坚持，”德丽雅诚挚地说。“你一定会成功的，亲爱的。33块！我们从没有过这么多钱。今晚我们可以吃牡蛎啦。”
“And filet mignon with champignons,”said Joe.“Where is the olive fork?”
“还有香草炸嫩肉排，”乔说，“橄榄油叉子在哪？”
On the next Saturday evening Joe reached home first. He spread his $18 on the parlour table and washed what seemed to be a great deal of dark paint from his hands.
下一个星期六的晚上，乔先回到了家。他把18块钱摊在客厅的桌子上，然后去洗粘在手上许多类似于黑漆的东西。
Half an hour later Delia arrived, her right hand tied up in a shapeless bundle of wraps and bandages.
半个小时以后，德丽雅回来了，她的右手被纱布和绷带缠得乱七八糟。
“How is this?”asked Joe after the usual greetings. Delia laughed, but not very joyously.
“这是怎么回事？”乔像往常那样打了招呼后问道。德丽雅笑了一下，不过不是很快活。
“Clementina,”she explained,“insisted upon a Welsh rabbit after her lesson. She is such a queer girl. Welsh rabbits at 5 in the afternoon. The General was there. You should have seen him run for the chafing dish, Joe, just as if there wasn't a servant in the house. I know Clementina isn't in good health; she is so nervous. In serving the rabbit she spilled a great lot of it, boiling hot, over my hand and wrist. It hurt awfully, Joe. And the dear girl was so sorry! But Gen. Pinkney!–Joe, that old man nearly went distracted. He rushed downstairs and sent somebody–they said the furnace man or somebody in the basement–out to a drug store for some oil and things to bind it up with. It doesn't hurt so much now.”
“克蕾门蒂娜，”她解释道，“她真是个古怪的姑娘！下课后一定要吃威尔士干酪。下午5点钟的时候她说要吃，将军当时也在那儿。你没看到他跑过去拿盘子时的样子，乔，就好像家里没佣人一样。我知道克蕾门蒂娜身体不好，又有些神经质。当她端干酪的时候忽然撒出来许多，那些滚烫的干酪刚好掉在我的手和手腕上，真让人痛得要命。可是乔，那可爱的姑娘抱歉极了！还有品克奈将军！——乔，那老头儿简直惊慌失措。他冲到楼下去喊人——听说是喊烧锅炉或是在地下室里干活的人——让他们去药房买油膏和包扎用的东西。现在我已经感觉不怎么疼了。”
“What's this?”asked Joe, taking the hand tenderly and pulling at some white strands beneath the bandages.
“这是什么？”乔问道，同时温柔地托起德丽雅的那只手，包住伤口的绷带下面的有几根白色的线。
“It's something soft,”said Delia,“that had oil on it. Oh, Joe, did you sell another sketch?”She had seen the money on the table.
“那是一些软纱。”德丽雅说，“你知道我涂了油膏的。呃，乔，你又卖掉了一幅素描是吗？”她看到了桌子上放着一些钱。
“Did I?”said Joe; “just ask the man from Peoria. He got his depot to-day, and he isn't sure but he thinks he wants another parkscape and a view on the Hudson. What time this afternoon did you burn your hand, Dele?”
“你问我吗？”乔说，“去问问那个庇奥利亚人你就会知道了。他今天来取走了那幅车站风景画，他还想再要一幅公园风景画和一幅哈得逊河风景画呢。你今天下午什么时候把手烫伤的，德丽？”
“Five o'clock, I think,”said Dele, plaintively.“The iron–I mean the rabbit came off the fire about that time. You ought to have seen Gen. Pinkney, Joe, when–”
“我想是5点左右吧，”德丽雅可怜巴巴地说。“那个熨斗——我是说干酪，恰巧就在那个时候做好。你真该看到品克奈将军当时的样子，乔，当时……”
“Sit down here a moment, Dele,”said Joe. He drew her to the couch, sat beside her and put his arm across her shoulders.
“到这儿来坐一会儿吧，德丽，”乔说，然后把她拉到沙发上坐下，而他则坐在了她身边，搂住她的肩膀。
“What have you been doing for the last two weeks, Dele?”he asked.
“告诉我，这两周你到底在做什么，亲爱的？”他问道。
She braved it for a moment or two with an eye full of love and stubborn-ness, and murmured a phrase or two vaguely of Gen. Pinkney; but at length down went her head and out came the truth and tears.
她硬挺了一会儿，眼里充满了爱和固执，然后含糊不清地又念叨了两遍品克奈将军。但最终她还是低下头来，流着眼泪说出了实情。
“I couldn't get any pupils,”she confessed.“And I couldn't bear to have you give up your lessons; and I got a place ironing shirts in that big Twenty-fourth street laundry. And I think I did very well to make up both General Pinkney and Clementina, don't you, Joe? And when a girl in the laundry set down a hot iron on my hand this afternoon I was all the way home making up that story about the Welsh rabbit. You're not angry, are you, Joe? And if I hadn't got the work you mightn't have sold your sketches to that man from Peoria.”
“我一个学生都招不到，”她终于开始承认，“但我实在不忍心看你中断学业，于是我去找了个烫衬衫的活儿干，就在第二十四街那家大洗衣店里。我想我编的品克奈将军和克蕾门蒂娜的故事挺真实的不是吗？今天下午，洗衣店里的一个姑娘不小心把滚烫的熨斗放在了我手上，我一路上都在编那个威尔士干酪的故事，你不会生我的气对吗乔？我想如果我不做这份工作，也许你就不可能把那幅画卖给那个庇奥利亚人了。”
“He wasn't from Peoria,”said Joe, slowly.
“他不是庇奥利亚人，”乔慢吞吞地说。
“Well, it doesn't matter where he was from. How clever you are, Joe–and–kiss me, Joe–and what made you ever suspect that I wasn't giving music lessons to Clementina?”
“哎，算了，他是什么地方人都没有关系。你真是个聪明的男子汉。乔——亲亲我吧，告诉我——是什么使你怀疑我没去给克蕾门蒂娜上音乐课呢？”
“I didn't,”said Joe,“until to-night. And I wouldn't have then, only I sent up this cotton waste and oil from the engine-room this afternoon for a girl upstairs who had her hand burned with a smoothing-iron. I've been firing the engine in that laundry for the last two weeks.”
“我什么都没怀疑，直到今天晚上。”乔说，“而且要不是今天下午我从机房里去给楼上的一个被熨斗烫伤的姑娘送棉纱和油膏的话，我是不会起疑心的。这两周以来，我就在那家洗衣店里烧锅炉。”
“And then you didn't–”
“这么说你没有……”
“My purchaser from Peoria,”said Joe,“and Gen. Pinkney are both creations of the same art–but you wouldn't call it either painting or music.”
“我的那位庇奥利亚主顾，”乔说，“和品克奈将军一样都是同一门艺术的产物——不过这门艺术既不是绘画也不是音乐。”
And then they both laughed, and Joe began:
他们两个都笑了起来，乔又说道：
“When one loves one's Art no service seems–”
“当一个人热爱他所认准的艺术时，任何奉献都……”
But Delia stopped him with her hand on his lips.“No,”she said– “just‘When one loves.’”
但德丽雅伸手捂住了他的嘴。“不，”她说——“只要‘当一个人去爱的时候’就足够了。”