读点好英文:The Love Letter 迟到的情书
The Love Letter 迟到的情书
·Melissa Nevels·
I was always a little in awe of great-aunt Stephina Roos. Indeed, as children we were all frankly terrified of her.The fact that she did not live with the family, preferring her tiny cottage and soIitude to the comfortable but rather noisy household where we were brought up-added to the respectful fear in which she was held.
We used to take it in turn to carry small delicacies which my mother had made down from the big house to the little cottage where Aunt Stephina and an old colored maid spent their days. Old Tnate Sanna would open the door to the rather frightened little messenger and would usher him or her into the dark voor-kamer, where the shutters were always closed to keep out the heat and the flies.There we would wait, in trembling but not altogether unpleasant.
She was a tiny little woman to inspire so much veneration. She was always dressed in black, and her dark clothes melted into the shadows of the voor-kamer and made her look smaller than ever.But you felt, the moment she entered, that something vital and strong and somehow indestructible had come in with her, although she moved slowly, and her voice was sweet and soft.
She never embraced us. She would greet us and take out hot little hands in her own beautiful cool ones, with blue veins standing out on the back of it, as though the white skin were almost too deIicate to contain them.
Tnate Sanna would bring in dishes of sweet, sticky candy, or a great bowl of grapes or peaches, and great-aunt Stephina would converse gravely about happenings on the farm, and, more rarely, of the outer world.
When we had finished our sweetmeats or fruit she would accompany us to the stoep, bidding us thank our mother for her gift and sending quaint, old-fashioned messages to her and father. Then she would turn and enter the house, closing the door behind, so that it became once more a place of mystery.
As I grew older I found, rather to my surprise, that I had become genuinely fond of my aloof old great-aunt. But to this day I do not know what strange impulse made me take George to see her and to tell her, before I had confided in another living soul, of our engagement.To my astonishment, she was delighted.
“An Englishman.”she exclaimed，“But that is splendid, splendid. And you，”she turned to George，“you are making your home in this country?You do not intend to return to England just yet?”
She seemed relieved when she heard that George had bought a farm near our own farm and intended to settle in South Africa. She became quite animated, and chattered away to him.
After that I would often slip away to the little cottage by the mealie lands. Once she was somewhat disappointed on hearing that we had decided to wait for two years before getting married, but when she learned that my father and mother were both pleased with the match she seemed reassured.
Still, she often appeared anxious about my love affair, and would ask questions that seemed to me strange, almost as though she feared that something would happen to destroy my romance. But I was quite unprepared for her outburst when I mentioned that George thought of paying a lightning visit to England before we were married.“He must not do it！”she cried，“Ina, you must not let him go.Promise me you will prevent him.”She was trembling all over.I did what I could to console her, but she looked so tired and pale that I persuaded her to go to her room and rest, promising to return the next day.
When I arrived I found her sitting on the step. She looked lonely and pathetic, and for the first time I wondered why no man had ever taken her and looked after her and loved her.Mother had told me that great-aunt Stephina had been lovely as a young girl, and although no trace of that beauty remained, except perhaps in her brown eyes, yet she looked so small and appealing that any man, one felt, would have wanted to protect her.She paused, as though she did not quite know how to begin.Then she seemed to give herself, mentally, a little shake.“You must have wondered”，she said，“why I was so upset at the thought of young George's going to England without you.I am an old woman, and perhaps I have the silly fancies of the old, but I should like to tell you my own love story, and then you can decide whether it is wise for your man to leave you before you are married.”
“I was quite a young girl when l first met Richard Weston. He was an Englishman who boarded with the Van Rensburgs on the next farm, four or five miles from us.Richard was not strong.He had a weak chest, and the doctors had sent him to South Africa so that the dry air could cure him.He taught the Van Rensburgs'children, who were younger than I was, though we often played together, but he did this for pleasure and not because he needed money.
“We loved one another from the first moment we met, though we did not speak of our love until the evening of my eighteenth birthday. All our friends and relatives had come to my party, and in the evening we danced on the big old carpet which we had laid down in the barn.Richard had come with the Van Rensburgs, and we danced together as often as we dared, which was not very often, for my father hated the uitlanders.Indeed, for a time he had quarreled with Mynheer Van Rensburg for allowing Richard to board with him, but afterwards he got used to the idea, and was always polite to the Englishman, though he never liked him.
“That was the happiest birthday of my life, for while we were resting between dances Richard took me outside into the cool, moonlit night, and there, under the stars, he told me he loved me and asked me to marry him. Of course I promised l would, for I was too happy to think of what my parents would say, or indeed of anything except Richard was not at our meeting place as he had arranged.I was disappointed but not alarmed, for so many things could happen to either of us to prevent out keeping our tryst.I thought that next time we visited the Van Ransburgs, l should hear what had kept him and we could plan further meetings……
“So when my father asked if I would drive with him to Driefontein I was delighted. But when we reached the homestead and were sitting on the step drinking our coffee, we heard that Richard had left quite suddenly and had gone back to England.His father had died, and now he was the heir and must go back to look after his estates.
“I do not remember very much more about that day, except that the sun seemed to have stopped shining and the country no longer looked beautiful and full of promise, but bleak and desoIate as it sometimes does in winter or in times of drought. Late that afternoon, Jantje, the little Hottentot herd boy, came up to me and handed me a letter, which he said the English baas had left for me.It was the only love letter I ever received, but it turned all my bitterness and grief into a peacefulness which was the nearest I could get, then, to happiness.I knew Richard still loved me, and somehow, as long as I had his letter, I felt that we could never be really parted, even if he were in England and I had to remain on the farm.I have it yet, and though I am an old, tired woman, it still gives me hope and courage.”
“It must have heen a wonderful letter, Aunt Stephina，”I said.
The old lady came back from her dreams of that far-off romance.“Perhaps，”she said, hesitating a little，“perhaps. My dear, you would care to read it?”
“I should love to, Aunt Stephina，”I said gently.
She rose at once and tripped into the house as eagerly as a young girl. When she came back she handed me a letter, faded and yellow with age.The edges of the envelope worn and frayed as though it had been much handled.But when I came to open it I found that the seal was unbroken.
“Open it, open it！”said great-aunt Stephina, and her voice was shaking.
I broke the seal and read.
It was not a love letter in the true sense of the word, but pages of the minutest directions of how“my sweetest Phina”was to eIude her father's vigilance, creep down to the drift at night and there meet Jantje with a horse which would take her to Smitsdorp. There she was to go to“my true friend, Henry Wilson”，who would give her money and make arrangements for her to follow her lover to Cape Town and from there to England，“where, my love, we can be married at once.But if, my dearest, you are not sure that you can face life with me in a land strange to you, then do not take this important step, for I love you too much to wish you the smallest unhappiness.If you do not come, and if I do not hear from you, then I shall know that you could never be happy so far from the people and the country which you love.If, however, you feel you can keep your promise to me, but are too timid and modest about a journey to England unaccompanied, then write to me, and I will, by some means, return to fetch my bride.”
I read no further.
“But Aunt Phina！”I gasped，“Why……why……?”
The old lady was watching me with trembling eagerness, her face flushed and her eyes bright with expectation.“Read it aloud, my dear，”she said，“I want to hear every word of it. There was never anyone I could trust……Uitlanders were hated in my young days……I could not ask anyone.”
“But, Auntie, don't you even know what he wrote?”
The old lady looked down, troubled and shy like a child who has unwittingIy done wrong.
“No, dear.”she said, speaking very low，“You see, I never learned to read.”
梅丽莎·内维尔斯
我对斯蒂菲娜·鲁斯姑姑总是怀着敬畏之情。说实话，我们几个孩子对她都怕得要死。她宁愿住在她的小屋子里，也不愿住在舒舒服服、热热闹闹的家里——我们几个孩子都是在这个家里长大的——这更加重了我们对她的敬畏之情。
我们经常轮流带着母亲做的可口食品到她和一名黑人女仆一起生活的那间小屋去。桑娜阿姨（黑人女仆）总是为每一个怯生生的小使者打开房门，将他或她领进昏暗的客厅。那里的百叶窗长年关闭着，以防热气和苍蝇进去。我们总是在那里哆哆嗦嗦的，但也不是完全不高兴地等着斯蒂菲娜姑姑出来。
像她那样身材纤细的女人居然能赢得我们如此的尊敬。她总是身穿黑色衣服，与客厅里的阴暗背景融为一体，这将她的身材衬托得更加娇小。但她一进门，我们就感到有一种说不清道不明、充满活力和刚强的气氛，尽管她脚步缓慢、声调甜柔。
她从不拥抱我们，但总是和我们寒暄，用她那双冰凉的手握着我们热乎乎的小手。她的手背上暴露出一些青筋，感觉手上的皮肤白嫩细薄到遮不住它们似的。
桑娜阿姨每次都要端出几碟黏糊糊的糖果或者一钵葡萄或桃子给我们吃。斯蒂菲娜姑姑总是一本正经地说些农场里的事，偶尔也谈些外界的事。
等我们吃完糖果或水果，她总要将我们送到屋前的门廊，感谢我母亲给她送食品，要我们对父母亲转达一些稀奇古怪的老式祝愿，然后就转身回到屋里，随手关上门。那里再次成了神秘世界。
随着年龄的增长，我惊奇地发现，我打心眼儿里开始喜欢起我那位孤零零的姑姑来。至今我仍不知道那是一种什么样的奇异动力，使我在没有向别人透露之前就带着乔治去看望姑姑，告诉她我们已经订婚的消息。不曾想，听到这个消息以后，她竟非常高兴。
“是英国人！”她惊讶地大声说道，“好极了。你，”她转向乔治，“你要在南非安家吗？你现在不打算回国吧？”
当听说乔治已经在我们农场附近购置了一片农场并打算定居下来时，她好像松了一口气。她兴致勃勃地和乔治攀谈起来。
从那以后，我经常到那个位于玉米地边的小屋。有一次，当斯蒂菲娜姑姑听说我们决定再过两年结婚时，她露出了失望的神色。但当听说我的父母亲都同意这门亲事时，她又放宽了心。
但她还是经常把我的婚姻大事挂在嘴边。她常常问一些怪怪的问题，似乎担心我的婚事会告吹一样。当我提到乔治打算在婚前回国一段时间时，她竟激动了起来。只见她浑身哆嗦着大声嚷道：“他不能回去！爱娜！你不能放他走，你得答应我不放他走！”我尽力安慰她，但她还是显得萎靡不振。我只好劝她回屋休息，并答应第二天再去看她。
我第二天去看她时，她正坐在屋前的台阶上，流露出抑郁的神情。我第一次感到纳闷：以前怎么没有人娶她，没人照料她、爱她呢？记得母亲曾经说过，斯蒂菲娜姑姑以前是一个可爱的小姑娘。除了她那褐色的眼睛尚能保留一点昔日的风韵之外，她的美貌早已荡然无存，但她看上去还是那样小巧玲珑，魅力散发，能引起男人的怜香惜玉之情。她看着我欲言又止，好像不知道从何说起似的。接着，她仿佛振作了起来。她说：“我听你说乔治要回国，又不带你走，心里非常不安。我这份心事你肯定有些不解。我是一个老婆子了，大概还怀着老人们的那颗痴心吧。不过，我想把自己的爱情故事讲给你听。这样你就能明白在你们结婚之前让你的未婚夫离开，不是一个明智之举。
“我第一次遇见理查德·威斯顿时还很年轻。他是一个英国人，寄宿在离我家四五英里的一个农场上的范·伦斯堡家里。他身体不好，胸闷气短。医生让他去南非，因为干燥的气候对他的病有好处。他教伦斯堡的孩子们念书，他们都比我小，可我们还是经常在一块儿玩。理查德以教书为乐，并不是为了赚钱。
“我和理查德一见钟情，尽管直到我18岁生日那天我们才表达对彼此的爱慕之情。我的亲友都参加了那晚的舞会。我们在仓房里铺的一条宽大的旧毛毯上翩翩起舞。理查德是和范·伦斯堡一家一起来的。我和他壮着胆子频频起舞，但事实上并没有几次，因为我的父亲很讨厌‘洋人’。有一次，他曾抱怨说伦斯堡先生不应该让理查德寄住在他的家里，为此还跟他吵过一架，可后来就习以为常了。虽谈不上喜欢，但他对这个英国人还是以礼相待。
“那是我一生中过得最快乐的一个生日，因为在舞会间歇，理查德将我领到外面，在清凉的月光下，在点点繁星下对我倾诉爱慕之情，并向我求婚。我二话没说就答应了，因为我早已心醉神迷，根本顾不上考虑父母的态度，什么也顾不上了。直到后来的一天，在他安排的约会处，理查德爽约没有来。失望之际，我没有大惊小怪，因为谁都会碰到形形色色的事而无法赴会。我想，下次去范·伦斯堡家看看就会知道理查德未能赴约的原因，然后再安排接下来的约会……
“所以，当父亲问我是否愿意和他一块儿去德里方丹时，我就高兴地答应了。但等我们赶到范·伦斯堡家，坐在他们家屋前的门廊上喝咖啡时，却听说理查德已经不辞而别，回英国去了。他的父亲死了，他作为继承人，不得不回去料理遗产。
“那天的事我记不大清楚了，只记得当时阳光惨淡，田野也失去了美丽的风采和欣欣向荣的景象，萧瑟凄凉得跟冬天或大旱时一样。那天傍晚，在我和父亲动身回家之前，霍屯督的小牧童詹杰交给我一封信，他说是那位英国老爷留给我的。这可是我有生以来收到的唯一的情书！它将我的忧伤一扫而光，使我的心情变得平静，这种平静又迅速变成一种幸福感。我知道理查德仍爱着我。不知怎么回事，有了这封信，我便觉得我们不可能真正分开，哪怕他在英国，而我在南非的农场。这封信我至今仍保留着，尽管我已经年迈体衰，但它仍能带给我希望和勇气。”
“斯蒂菲娜姑姑，那封信一定浪漫极了！”我说。
老太太从她那久远的爱之梦中缓过神来。“也许，”她带着犹豫的神情说，“也许，亲爱的。你想看看那封信吧？”
“我很想看，斯蒂菲娜姑姑。”我轻声说。
她猛地站起身，奔进屋里，急切得像个小姑娘。她从屋里出来，递给我一封信。由于时日已久，信纸已经褪色发黄，信封边也有所磨损，好像曾被摩挲过好多次。但当我取信时，我发现封口还没有拆开。
“拆开，拆开吧！”斯蒂菲娜姑姑声音颤抖地说。
我撕开封口，开始念信。
严格地说，这算不上是情书，实际上只是几页内容详尽的行动指南。信里告诉“我最亲爱的菲娜”该怎么摆脱她父亲的监视，夜里逃出家门，詹杰会在浅滩上牵马等着她，然后将她驮到史密斯多普，到了那里再去找理查德的“知心朋友亨利·威尔逊”，他会给她钱并为她安排跟随她的情人到开普敦，随后转道英国。“亲爱的，这样我们就可以立即在英国结婚了。但是我的至爱，如果你不能保证你能在一个陌生的地方和我一块儿生活，你就不要采取这个重大行动了，因为我太爱你了，不想让你有丝毫不快。如果你没来，而且我没有收到你的回信，我就会知道，如果你离开你挚爱的亲人和乡土，你是不会幸福的。但如果你能实现你对我的许诺而由于你生性持重，害怕只身前往英国，就来信告诉我，我会设法回南非来迎娶我的新娘。”
我没有再念下去。
“可是，菲娜姑姑，”我急切地说，“为什么……为什么……”老太太的身体由于渴望知道信的内容而颤抖，她注视着我，脸庞因急切的期待而一片绯红。“亲爱的，大声念吧！”她说，“信里的一字一句，我都要听！当时我找不到可靠的人给我念……我年轻时，‘洋人’是被人深恶痛绝的……我找不到人给我念啊！”
“可是姑姑，难道你一直不知道信的内容吗？”
老太太低着头，像一个无心做错事的怯生生的孩子。
“不知道，亲爱的。”她低声说，“你知道，我从来没有念过书啊！”
Practising&Exercise 实战提升篇
核心单词
soIitude['sɔlitju：d]n.孤独；寂寞
veneration[,venə'reiʃən]n.尊敬
deIicate['delikət]adj.精美的，雅致的；纤弱的
mystery['mistəri]n.神秘；秘密
anxious['æŋkʃəs]adj.焦虑的；挂念的
pathetic[pə'θetik]adj.引起怜悯的；可怜的；可悲的
desoIate['desəleit]adj.荒芜的；无人烟的
fade[feid]v.凋谢，枯萎；褪色
eIude[i'lju：d]v.（巧妙地）逃避，躲避
unwittingIy[,ʌn'witiŋli]adv.无意地；不经意地
实用句型
Indeed, as chiIdren we were aII frankIy terrified of her.说实话，我们几个孩子对她都怕得要死。
①as在这里做介词。
②frankly真诚地。类似的adj.+ly构成adv.的有：rapid→rapidly, careful→carefully等。
翻译练习
1.许多男孩的梦想是成为飞行员。（dream of）
2.马上就做！（at once）
3.我累得都动不了了。（too……to）
