双语·《刀锋》 第二章 二

CHAPTER TWO 2
第二章 二

I spent the next morning very pleasantly. I went to the Luxembourg and passed an hour looking at some pictures I liked.Then I strolled in the gardens, recapturing the memories of my youth.Nothing had changed.They might have been the same students who walked along the gravel paths in pairs, eagerly discussing the writers who excited them.They might have been the same children who trundled the same hoops under the watchful eyes of the same nurses.They might have been the same old men who basked in the sunshine, reading the morning paper.They might have been the same middle-aged women in mourning who sat on the free benches and gossiped with one another about the price of food and the misdeeds of servants.Then I went to the Odéon and looked at the new books in the galleries and I saw the lads who like myself thirty years before were trying under the petulant eyes of the smock-frocked attendants to read as much as they could of books they could not afford to buy.Then I strolled leisurely along those dear, dingy streets till I came to the Boulevard du Montparnasse and so to the D?me.Larry was waiting.We had a drink and walked along to a restaurant where we could lunch in the open air.
第二天上午，我度过了一段惬意的时光。先是到卢森堡博物馆去，用去一个小时观赏自己喜欢的画作，随后我就悠然散步于花园中，追忆已经逝去的青春年华。这儿一点变化都没有。但见青年学子成双成对漫步在沙砾小径上，兴奋地谈论着叫他们热血沸腾的作家；孩子们在保姆的照看下滚铁环玩耍；老人们一边晒太阳一边读晨报；几个正在服丧的中年妇女坐在公共长凳上唠嗑，议论食品的价格和用人的不端行为。眼前的人和景依稀宛如当年。后来我去了奥德昂大剧院，在剧院的长廊里浏览陈列在那儿的新书。我看见几个少年跟我三十年前一样，顶着身穿长罩衫的书亭老板那恼怒的目光，如饥似渴地阅读自己所买不起的书。出了大剧院，我迈着四方步走在那亲切、幽暗的偏街小巷，到了蒙巴纳斯街区，再走到多姆咖啡馆。拉里已在那儿等候。喝了杯酒，我们就慢慢悠悠去找吃饭的地方了，想找一家可以在室外进餐的馆子。

He was perhaps a little paler than I remembered him and this made his very dark eyes, in their deep orbits, more striking；but he had the same self-possession, curious in one so young, and the same ingenuous smile. When he ordered his lunch I noticed that he spoke French fluently and with a good accent.I congratulated him on it.
与上次见他时相比，他的脸色也许苍白了些，这倒让他那双深陷在眼窝里的乌黑的眸子更加炯炯有神。他还是那样矜持自重，这对一个小青年来说是很少见的；他的笑容依然坦率真诚。他点饭菜时，我留意到他说一口流利的法语，语音纯正。为此，我向他表示祝贺。

“I knew a certain amount of French before, you know，”he explained.“Aunt Louisa had a French governess for Isabel, and when they were at Marvin she used to make us talk French with her all the time.”
“要知道，我以前懂得一点法语。”他解释说，“路易莎伯母给伊莎贝尔请了个法国家庭女教师。在马文的时候，那位教师让我们跟她讲法语，始终坚持这么做。”

I asked him how he liked Paris.
我问他喜欢不喜欢巴黎。

“Very much.”
“非常喜欢。”

“D'you live in Montparnasse?”
“你在蒙巴纳斯街区住吗？”

“Yes，”he said, after a moment's hesitation which I interpreted into a disinclination to tell exactly where he lived.
“是的。”他迟疑了一下才回答道。我猜想他这是不愿说出自己确切的住址。

“Elliott was rather put out that the only address you gave was the American Express.”
“你给艾略特只留了美国运通公司业务点的地址，叫他十分生气。”

Larry smiled but did not answer.
拉里笑笑，什么也没说。

“What do you do with yourself all the time?”
“你成天干些什么呢？”

“I loaf.”
“逛大街。”

“And you read?”
“还看书吗？”

“Yes, I read.”
“是的，还看。”

“Do you ever hear from Isabel?”
“跟伊莎贝尔通信吗？”

“Sometimes. We're neither of us great letter-writers.She's having a grand time in Chicago.They're coming over next year to stay with Elliott.”
“有时候通通信。我俩都不擅于写信。她在芝加哥过得很开心。明年她们要来法国，在艾略特这儿待待。”

“That'll be nice for you.”
“这对你们俩是件好事。”

“I don't believe Isabel's ever been to Paris. It'll be fun taking her around.”
“据我所知，伊莎贝尔没来过巴黎。领着她四处走走，一定会很有趣的。”

He was curious to know about my journey in China and listened attentively to what I told him；but when I tried to get him to talk about himself, I failed. He was so uncommunicative that I was forced to the conclusion that he had asked me to lunch with him merely to enjoy my company.I was pleased, but baffled.We had no sooner finished our coffee than he called for the bill, paid it, and got up.
对于我的中国之行，他充满了好奇之心，很想听我讲一讲。当我开始讲述时，他听得非常专注。可是我想让他谈谈他自己的情况时，他却三缄其口。他的沉默使我只能有一个结论——他约我吃饭仅仅是想和我一起坐坐。我虽然感到高兴，心里却百般困惑。喝完咖啡，他就叫结账，付了钱，然后站起了身子。

“Well, I must be off，”he said.
“哦，我得走了。”他说。

We parted. I knew no more of what he was up to than before.I did not see him again.
我们分了手。对于他的人生目标，我仍然知之甚少。那以后，我再没有见过他。