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林肯传|Lincoln

第10章|10

属类： 双语小说 【分类】其他读物 阅读：[34286]
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在生活的许多方面，春田市没有比玛丽·林肯更勤俭持家的主妇了。但在那些可以炫耀的事情上，她却尤为奢侈。她买了一辆林肯家根本承受不起的马车，还以一下午二十五美分的价格雇了邻居家的小男孩做车夫，拉着她去镇里走亲访友。春田市本就是个小地方，她完全可以步行或雇一辆车。但是她不能这么做，太失身份。而且，不管他们多穷，她总是能凑出钱来买那些远不是他们能消费得起的衣服。

1
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In most respects, there wasn’t a more economical housewife in all Springfield than Mary Lincoln. She was extravagant chiefly in matters having to do with showing off. She bought a carriage when the Lincolns could ill afford it and paid a neighbor’s boy twenty-fve cents an afternoon for driving her about town to make social calls. The place was a mere village, and she could have walked or hired a vehicle. But no, that would have been beneath her. And no matter how poor they were, she could always fnd money for clothes costing more than she could afford.

2
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一八四四年，林肯一家以一千五百美元的价格买下了两年前为他们主持婚礼的查尔斯·德莱赛牧师的房子。这栋房子内设起居室、厨房、会客室和几间卧室。院子后面有一堆木柴、一个厕所，还有一个可以让林肯饲养奶牛和“老公鹿”的马厩。

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In 1844, the Lincolns paid ffteen hundred dollars for the home of the Rev. Charles Dresser who, two years before, had performed their marriage ceremony. The house had a livingroom, kitchen, parlor, bedrooms; and, in the back yard, there was a woodpile, an outhouse, and a barn where Lincoln kept his cow and Old Buck.

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一开始，这个地方在玛丽·林肯眼中就像天堂一样。事实上，和他们刚刚搬离的那个阴冷、简陋的寄宿公寓比起来，这里确实算是天堂。此外，这栋房子是她的，这种拥有感让她感到非常快乐和骄傲。不久之后，房子的完美感开始褪去，她开始无休止地抱怨起房子的毛病来。她的姐姐住着两层楼的大房子，这栋房子却只有一层半高。她告诉林肯，没有哪个了不起的人物是住在一层半高的矮房里的。

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At frst the place seemed to Mary Lincoln an earthly paradise; and it was, in comparison with the bleak, bare rooms of the boarding-house she had just left. Besides, she had the new-found joy and pride of ownership. But its perfections soon began to fade, and she was forever fnding fault with the home. Her sister lived in a huge two-story house, and this one was only a story and a half high. She once told Lincoln that no man who ever amounted to much lived in a story-and-a-half house.

4
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通常来说，当她要什么东西时，林肯从来都不会询问是否有必要。“你知道自己要什么，”他总是说，“去买就是了。”但这一次，他却很反对。家里本就人少，这栋房子已经足够了。更何况，他很穷，刚结婚的时候，他只有五百美金，到了现在也没增加多少存款。他知道他们没有钱扩建房子，对此她也很清楚，但仍旧不断地提要求，不停地唠叨。最后，为了让她闭嘴，林肯找了一个承包商估算价格，并让承包商把价格估高一些。承包商照做了，林肯将预算拿给玛丽看。看到那些数字，她倒吸了一口气。林肯以为，这件事就这么解决了。

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Usually, when she asked him for anything, he never inquired whether it was necessary. “You know what you want,” he would say, “so go and get it.” But in this instance, he rebelled: the family was small, and thehouse was entirely adequate. Besides, he was a poor man: he had only fve hundred dollars when they were married, and he had not added much to it since. He knew that they couldn’t afford to enlarge the house; and she knew it also; but she kept on urging and complaining. Finally, in order to quiet her, he had a contractor estimate the cost, and Lincoln told him to make it high. He did, and Lincoln showed her the fgures. She gasped, and he imagined that settled the matter.

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但是林肯太天真了。第二天，待他外出巡回办案时，玛丽请来了一个木匠。她得到了一个低一些的报价，便立刻敲定了这项工程。

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But he was too hopeful, for the next time he went away on the circuit she called in another carpenter, got a lower estimate, and ordered the work done at once.

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待到林肯回到春田市，走入第八大街的时候，他差点儿没认出自己家来。他遇到了一位朋友，故意装出一副严肃的样子问道：“陌生人，你能告诉我林肯先生住在哪里吗？”

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When Lincoln returned to Springfeld and walked down Eighth Street, he hardly recognized his own house. Meeting a friend, he inquired with mock seriousness, “Stranger, can you tell me where Mr. Lincoln lives?”

7
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林肯做律师的收入本就不高，用他自己的话说，为了付清账单，他不得不“东拼西凑”。如今他一回到家，身上又多了一张数目庞大但毫无必要的装修账单。

7
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His income from the law was not large; and he often had, as he put it, “hard scratching” to meet his bills. And now he had come home to fnd a large and unnecessary carpenter bill added to his burdens.

8
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他说，他感到非常悲伤。

8
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It saddened him, and he said so.

9
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面对林肯的指责，林肯夫人只会用一种方式应对——言语攻击。她愤怒地指责林肯没有金钱观念，根本不知道如何经营，还说他向当事人收取的费用太低。

9
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Mrs. Lincoln answered him in the only way that she knew how to react to a criticism—with an attack. She told him testily that he had no money sense, that he didn’t know how to manage, that he didn’t charge enough for his services.

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对于最后一点，林肯夫人尤为不满，而许多人和她的想法是一样的。林肯总是收取微薄的律师费，这让其他律师非常不悦，他们抱怨说林肯让整个律师界都变穷了。

10
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That was one of her favorite grievances, and many people would have backed her stand on that. The other attorneys were constantly irritated and annoyed by Lincoln’s trifing charges, declaring that he was impoverishing the whole bar.

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一八五三年的时候，林肯四十四岁，距他入主白宫还有八年时间。这一年他在麦克林巡回法庭办了四件案子，总共只收了三十美金。

11
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As late as 1853, when Lincoln was forty-four years old and only eight years away from the White House, he handled four cases in the McLean Circuit Court for a total charge of thirty dollars.

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他说，他的很多当事人和他一样穷，他不忍心收取高额的律师费。

12
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Many of his clients, he said, were as poor as he, and he didn’t havethe heart to charge them much.

13
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有一次，一个人给了他二十五美金律师费，他还回去十美金，还说当事人太慷慨了。

13
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Once a man sent him twenty-fve dollars; and Lincoln returned ten, saying he had been too liberal.

14
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还有一次，他帮助一位精神错乱的姑娘从骗子手里要回了价值一万美金的财物。林肯只花了十五分钟便赢了官司。一个小时之后，他的助手沃德·拉蒙（Ward Lamon）来和他平分二百五十美金的酬劳，但林肯却严厉地制止了他。拉蒙说这是事先就定好的价钱，女孩的哥哥十分愿意支付这笔费用。

14
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In another instance, he prevented a swindler from getting hold of ten thousand dollars’ worth of property owned by a demented girl. Lincoln won the case in ffteen minutes. An hour later, his associate, Ward Lamon, came to divide their fee of two hundred and ffty dollars. Lincoln rebuked him sternly. Lamon protested that the fee had been settled in advance, that the girl’s brother was entirely satisfed to pay it.

15
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“也许吧，”林肯反驳道，“但是我不愿意。我宁愿饿死，也不愿意用这种方式从那个又穷又疯的可怜姑娘手里骗走这么多钱。你至少还一半回去，否则我分文不收。”

15
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“That may be,” Lincoln retorted, “but I am not satisfed. That money comes out of the pocket of a poor, demented girl; and I would rather starve than swindle her in this manner. You return half this money at least, or I’ll not take a cent of it as my share.”

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还有一起官司。一个革命老兵的遗孀领了四百美金的养老金，她的养老金代理人仅仅在她口头允许的情况下擅自取走了两百美金。那位遗孀年事已高，腰背弯曲，日子过得很清苦。林肯让她起诉了代理人，帮她赢了官司，但分文未收。此外，林肯还支付了她住店的旅费和回程的车票。

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In another instance, a pension agent had charged the widow of a Revolutionary soldier half the four hundred dollars to which her pension amounted, for getting her claim allowed. The old woman was bent with age, and in poverty. Lincoln had her sue the pension agent, won the case for her, and charged her nothing. Besides, he paid her hotel bill and gave her money to buy a ticket home.

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一天，寡妇阿姆斯特朗遇到了大麻烦，于是来找林肯。她的儿子达夫被指控在一次酒后闹事中杀了人，她恳求林肯救救她的儿子。林肯早在新塞勒姆村的时候就认识了阿姆斯特朗一家，达夫在摇篮里的时候，林肯还哄过他睡觉呢。阿姆斯特朗一家野蛮好斗，但林肯很喜欢他们。达夫的父亲杰克·阿姆斯特朗曾是“闪耀的丛林男孩”的领袖，也是著名的摔跤好手，在一次摔跤比赛中曾被林肯击败过。这件事是有历史记载的。

17
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One day the Widow Armstrong came to Lincoln in great trouble. Her son Duff was charged with having murdered a man in a drunken brawl, and she pleaded with Abe to come and save the boy. Lincoln had known the Armstrongs back in New Salem. In fact, he had rocked Duff to sleep when he was a baby in the cradle. The Armstrongs had been a wild, rough lot; but Lincoln liked them. Jack Armstrong, Duff’s father, had been the leader of the Clary’s Grove Boys, and the renowned athlete whom Lincoln vanquished in a wrestling-match that has gone down in history.

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老杰克现在已经不在了，因此林肯很乐意帮忙。他站在陪审团面前，进行了他律师生涯中最令人动容的辩护，将故人之子从绞架下救了出来。

18
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Old Jack was dead now. Lincoln gladly went before the jury and made one of the most moving and appealing addresses of his career, andsaved the boy from the gallows.

19
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这位寡母想将自己在这个世界上的全部财产——四十英亩土地——送给林肯做报酬。

19
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All the widowed mother had in the world was forty acres of land, which she offered to turn over to Lincoln.

20
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“汉娜婶婶，”林肯说，“数年前我一贫如洗又无家可归的时候，是你将我带回了家，给我饭吃，替我补衣服。我现在绝不能收你的钱。”

20
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“Aunt Hannah,” he said, “you took me in years ago when I was poor and homeless, and you fed me and mended my clothes, and I shan’t charge you a cent now.”

21
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有的时候，他会劝当事人庭外和解，也不收他们的咨询费。有一次，他拒绝接受法庭对一个人的判决，他说：“这个人又穷又瘸，我很同情他。”

21
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Sometimes he urged his clients to settle out of court, and charged them nothing whatever for his advice. In one instance, he refused to take a judgment against a man, saying, “I am really sorry for him—poor and a cripple as he is.”

22
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林肯的善良和怜悯之心，虽然很美好，但却挣不到钱，于是玛丽·林肯总是烦躁地责备他。她的丈夫还未出人头地，而其他律师都靠着佣金和投资日益富裕起来，例如大卫·戴维斯法官，还有洛根，当然，还有史蒂芬·道格拉斯。道格拉斯在芝加哥投资了房地产，现在已经积累了不少财富。他甚至还成了慈善家，给芝加哥大学捐了十英亩的珍贵土地用于建造大楼。而且，他现在是全国最著名的政治领袖。

22
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Such kindness and consideration, beautiful though it was, didn’t bring in cash; so Mary Lincoln scolded and fretted. Her husband wasn’t getting on in the world, while other lawyers were growing wealthy with their fees and investments. Judge David Davis, for example, and Logan. Yes, and Stephen A. Douglas. By investing in Chicago real estate, Douglas had amassed a fortune and even become a philanthropist, giving Chicago University ten acres of valuable land upon which to erect its buildings. Besides, he was now one of the most famous political leaders in the nation.

23
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玛丽·林肯总是惦记着他——如果当初和他结婚那该多好！作为道格拉斯的夫人，她便可以成为华盛顿社交圈的领导人物，穿着巴黎的衣服，去欧洲旅行，和女王一起吃饭，然后某天入住白宫。大概她每天都在这些白日梦里描绘着这些画面。

23
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How often Mary Lincoln thought of him, and how keenly she wished she had married him! As Mrs. Douglas she would be a social leader in Washington, wear Paris clothes, enjoy trips to Europe, dine with queens, and some day live in the White House. So she probably pictured herself in vain day-dreams.

24
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作为林肯的妻子，她有什么未来？林肯也许到死都是这样了：每年花六个月时间在外面巡回办案，留自己在家独守空房，不爱她，也不关注她……现实生活和多年前她在曼特尔夫人的学校里幻想的浪漫情景完全不同，而这种不同又是多么令人心酸啊！

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What was her future as Lincoln’s wife? He would go on like this to the end: riding the circuit for six months out of the year, leaving her alone at home, lavishing no love on her, and giving her no attention.... How different, how poignantly different, the realities of life were from the romantic visions she had once dreamed at Madame Mentelle’s in the long ago!

序号 英文/音标 中文解释 更多操作

extravagant

[ɪk’strævəɡənt]

adj.奢侈的;浪费的;过度的;大量的

chiefly

[’tʃiːfli]

adv.主要地

carriage

[’kærɪdʒ]

n.四轮马车

cent

[sent]

n.分

Dresser

[’dresə(r)]

n.化妆台;带镜衣柜;碗柜，装饰橱窗的人;着衣者，服装师;好打扮的人

enlarge

[ɪn’lɑːdʒ]

v.扩大;增大;详述

hopeful

[’həʊpfl]

adj.有希望的

mock

[mɒk]

v.嘲弄;嘲笑;模仿

seriousness

[’sɪəriəsnəs]

n.严肃;认真;严重性

bill

[bɪl]

①帐单；清单;

sadden

[’sædn]

v.(使)黯淡;(使)悲伤

grievance

[’ɡriːvəns]

n.委屈;冤情;苦况

irritate

[’ɪrɪteɪt]

v.激怒;使疼痛或发炎

Ward

[wɔːd]

n.病房;行政区;监护;守卫;受监护人

stern

[stɜːn]

adj.严厉的;严峻的;苛刻的;坚决的

retort

[rɪ’tɔːt]

v.反驳;回嘴;反击

drunken

[’drʌŋkən]

adj.常醉的;喝醉的

cradle

[’kreɪdl]

n.摇篮;发祥地;支架

Jack

[dʒæk]

n.杰克(男子名)

vanquish

[’væŋkwɪʃ]

v.征服;克服;击败

appeal

[ə’piːl]

①[U][C]呼吁，要求;

cripple

[’krɪpl]

n.跛者;残废

fret

[fret]

vi. 烦恼；着急;

David

[’deɪvɪd]

戴维(男子名)

Chicago

[ʃɪ’kɑːgəʊ,-’kɔː-]

n.芝加哥

amass

[ə’mæs]

v.积聚;收集

dine

[daɪn]

v.用正餐;进餐

lavish

[’lævɪʃ]

adj.大方的;丰富的;浪费的

poignant

[’pɔɪnjənt]

adj.悲伤的;痛切的;严厉的;尖锐的;剧烈的;浓烈的

Madame

[’mædəm]

n.夫人

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