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林肯传|Lincoln

第4章|4

属类： 双语小说 【分类】其他读物 阅读：[34289]
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林肯一家在伊利诺伊州的迪凯特城附近的一片林地定居了下来。林地的旁边是一处悬崖，悬崖下面便是桑加蒙河。

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The Lincolns settled near Decatur, Illinois, on a stretch of timber land running along a bluff overlooking the Sangamon River.

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亚伯干了很多活儿：砍树，造房子，砍倒灌木丛，清理土地，赶着一头上了轭的公牛耕十五英亩土地，种玉米，以及劈开树桩修建围栏以便保护地里的财产。

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Abe helped to fell trees, erect a cabin, cut brush, clear the land, break ffteen acres of sod with a yoke of oxen, plant it to corn, split rails, and fence the property in.

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第二年，邻居们雇林肯做了很多稀奇古怪的活儿，例如犁地、打场、劈木条以及杀猪。

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The next year he worked as a hired man in the neighborhood, doing odd jobs for farmers: plowing, pitching hay, mauling rails, butchering hogs.

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亚伯·林肯在伊利诺伊州的第一个冬天，是该州历史上最寒冷的一个冬天。草原上的积雪足有十五英尺深，牛都冻死了，野鹿和野火鸡也几乎绝迹了，甚至还有人被冻死了。

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The frst winter Abe Lincoln spent in Illinois was one of the coldest the State had known. Snow drifted ffteen feet deep on the prairies; cattle died, the deer and wild turkey were almost exterminated, and even people were frozen to death.

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在那个冬天，为了换一条用白胡桃木树皮染制的棕色牛仔布做的裤子，林肯不得不劈上一千根木条。为了去工作，每天他都要越过三英里的路。有一次，在渡过桑加蒙河时，独木舟翻了，他掉进了满是冰块的河水中。当他奋力地游到离他最近的瓦尼克少校（Major Warnick）家时，他的双脚已冻伤。之后整整一个月，他都无法走路，只能躺在瓦尼克少校家壁炉前的地板上，讲些有趣的故事，并阅读了一卷《伊利诺伊州法典》。

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During this winter Lincoln agreed to split a thousand rails for a pair of trousers made from brown jean cloth dyed with white-walnut bark. He had to travel three miles each day to work. Once, while crossing the Sangamon, his canoe was upset, he was thrown into the icy water, and before he could reach the nearest house, Major Warnick’s, his feet froze. For a month he was unable to walk, and so he spent that time lying in front of the fireplace at Major Warnick’s telling stories, and reading a volume of the Statutes of Illinois.

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在这之前，林肯曾追求过少校的女儿，但少校对此并不赞同。搞什么鬼？我瓦尼克家的女儿怎么会嫁给这个既笨拙又没受过教育的、只会劈木条的年轻人？而且还是一个没有土地，没有现金，也没有前途的穷鬼！门儿都没有！

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Prior to this, Lincoln had courted the major’s daughter, but the major frowned on the idea. What? A daughter of his, a Warnick, married to this gawky, uneducated rail-splitter? A man without land, without cash, and without prospects? Never!

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确实，林肯并没有土地，更糟糕的是，他根本不想拥有土地。他在农田里生活了二十二年，拓荒经验已十分丰富，但他讨厌乏味磨人的农务，讨厌这种单调的生活。他渴望出人头地，渴望和外面的世界接触，他希望找一份能认识各种各样的人的工作，他希望能有一群人围在他身边，因为他的故事而放声大笑。

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True, Lincoln didn’t own any land; and that wasn’t all—he didn’t want to own any. He had spent twenty-two years on farms, and he had had enough of pioneer farming. He hated the grinding toil, the lonely monotony of the life. Longing for distinction, as well as for contact with other social beings, he wanted a job where he could meet people and gather a crowd around him and keep them roaring at his stories.

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在印第安纳的时候，亚伯曾替人划着平底船顺河而下去新奥尔良。这份工作让林肯非常开心。一路上真是新鲜极了，充满了刺激和冒险。有一天晚上，当他们的船停靠在杜谢恩夫人（Madame Duchesne）的种植园旁时，一群手持刀和棍棒的黑人闯入了船内，试图杀掉船员，将尸体抛入河中，然后带着整船的货物顺流而下去新奥尔良的贼窝。

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While living back in Indiana Abe had once helped foat a fatboat down the river to New Orleans, and what fun he had had! Novelty. Excitement.Adventure. One night while the boat was tied up to the shore at the plantation of Madame Duchesne, a gang of Negroes, armed with knives and clubs, climbed aboard. They meant to kill the crew, throw their bodies into the river, and foat the cargo down to the thieves’ headquarters at New Orleans.

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林肯随手抄起一根棍子，凭借着有力而颀长的双臂，一下子将三个强盗打翻到河中，接着又将其他人赶回了岸上。但是在战斗中，一个黑人用刀砍伤了林肯的前额，在他右眼靠上的位置留下了一道口子。从此以后，这道伤疤跟随了林肯一辈子。

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Lincoln seized a club, and with his long, powerful arms knocked three of the marauders into the river, then chased the others ashore; but, in the fght, one of the Negroes slashed Lincoln’s forehead with a knife and left over his right eye a scar that he carried to his grave.

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就连汤姆·林肯也无法说服儿子做一个垦荒的农民。

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No, Tom Lincoln could not hold the boy Abe to a pioneer farm.

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见过了新奥尔良后，亚伯又找了一份河上的工作。他和继母的儿子以及表兄一起砍树，劈成圆木，将它们顺流漂到锯木厂。他们用这些木头造了一艘八十英尺长的平底船，装上培根、玉米、猪肉，沿着密西西比河顺流而下。为此，除了奖金，他每天可赚五十美分。

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Having seen New Orleans once, Abe now got himself another river job. For ffty cents a day and a bonus he and his stepbrother and second cousin cut down trees, hewed logs, floated them to a sawmill, built a fatboat eighty feet long, loaded it with bacon, corn, and hogs, and foated it down the Mississippi.

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林肯的工作包括给船员做饭、掌舵、讲故事、玩七点儿(5)以及大声唱歌：

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Lincoln did the cooking for the crew, steered the boat, told stories, played seven-up, and sang in a loud voice:

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裹着头巾的土耳其人，藐视世界，

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The turbaned Turk that scorns the world

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昂首阔步，鬓须拳曲，

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And struts about with his whiskers curled

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可除了他自己，没人看他一眼。

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For no other man but himself to see.

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这次的沿河旅行给林肯留下了深刻的印象。赫恩登在书中是这样描述的：

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This trip down the river made a profound and lasting impression upon Lincoln. Herndon says:

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在新奥尔良，林肯第一次看到了奴隶制的可怕。他看到“黑人身上锁着铁链，不断地受到鞭打”。面对这种惨绝人寰的暴行，林肯的正义感使他产生了反抗意识。他的观念和良知也因此苏醒了。他终于理解了他曾读过的那些文字、听到的那些话语的意义。奴隶制对林肯影响巨大是毫无疑问的。正如他的一位朋友所言：“奴隶制在他心中打下了烙印。”一天早上，林肯和两位朋友一起在城里漫步，遇到一场奴隶拍卖会。一个健壮标致的黑白混血女孩正在被拍卖。买主们用双手对她里里外外进行了彻底的检查。他们捏她的肉，让她像马一样在房间里跑来跑去以便检查她的活动能力。据拍卖人说，这样做是为了“让买主可以确认”他们买的东西到底值不值得。整个场面令人无比厌恶，林肯心中涌起了一种“无法控制的厌恶感”，于是愤然离开了那里。他对同行的伙伴说：“上帝啊，咱们赶紧离开吧！如果我有机会揍它（奴隶制）一顿，我一定毫不留情。”

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In New Orleans, for the first time Lincoln beheld the true horrors of human slavery. He saw “negroes in chains—whipped and scourged.” Against this inhumanity his sense of right and justice rebelled, and his mind and conscience were awakened to a realization of what he had often heard and read. No doubt, as one of his companions has said, “Slavery ran the iron into him then and there.” One morning in their rambles over the city the trio passed a slave auction. A vigorous and comely mulatto girl was being sold. She underwent a thorough examination at the hands of the bidders; they pinched her flesh and made her trot up and down the room like a horse, to show how she moved, and in order, as the auctioneer said, that “bidders might satisfy themselves” whether the article they were offering to buy was sound or not. The whole thing was so revolting that Lincoln moved away from the scene with a deep feeling of “unconquerable hate.” Bidding his companions follow him he said, “By God, boys, let’s get away from this. If ever I get a chance to hit that thing [meaning slavery], I’ll hit it hard.”

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林肯和雇他去新奥尔良的货主登顿·奥福特（Denton Offut）处得很好。奥福特喜欢他讲的各种笑话和故事，也喜欢他的诚实。他雇用林肯回到伊利诺伊州，让他伐几棵树，然后在新塞勒姆村用圆木建造一间杂货铺。新塞勒姆村坐落在一处悬崖上，下方便是蜿蜒的桑加蒙河。村子规模很小，只有十五到二十家住户。在新塞勒姆村，林肯不但操持着杂货铺，还经营着一个磨坊和锯木厂。他在那儿度过了对他的未来有着巨大影响的六年。

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Lincoln became very popular with Denton Offut, the man who hired him to go to New Orleans. Offut liked his jokes and stories and honesty. He employed the young man to go back to Illinois, fell trees, and build a log-cabin grocery store in New Salem, a tiny village composed of fifteen or twenty cabins perched on a bluff high above the winding Sangamon. Here Lincoln clerked in the store and also ran a grist and sawmill, and here he lived for six years—years that had a tremendous infuence on his future.

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村子里有一群野蛮好斗爱胡闹的混混，他们自称为“闪耀的丛林男孩”。他们吹嘘自己是伊利诺伊州最能喝威士忌、骂人最绝、最能打架的人。

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The village had a wild, pugnacious, hell-raising gang of ruffians called the Clary’s Grove Boys, a crowd who boasted that they could drink more whisky, swear more profanely, wrestle better, and hit harder than any other group in all Illinois.

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从品性来说，这些混混都不是坏人。他们忠诚、坦率、慷慨、富有同情心，但就是喜欢炫耀。因此，当喜欢声张的登顿·奥福特来到镇上，大肆宣扬他的杂货铺店员林肯是如何力大无穷时，“闪耀的丛林男孩”便按捺不住了，誓要给这个暴发户一点颜色看看。

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At heart they weren’t a bad lot. They were loyal, frank, generous, and sympathetic, but they loved to show off. So when the loud-mouthed Denton Offut came to town and proclaimed the physical prowess of his grocery clerk, Abe Lincoln, the Clary’s Grove Boys were delighted. Theywould show this upstart a thing or two.

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但是结果却完全出乎他们的意料。那位高个子年轻人不仅跑得比他们快，跳得比他们高，还能凭借着那双颀长的手臂在扔铁锤和炮弹方面胜过他们所有人。此外，那个年轻人还能讲一些他们能听懂的有趣的故事，而那些边远地区的故事总是能逗得他们哈哈大笑好几个小时。

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But the showing was all the other way, for this young giant won their foot-races and jumping contests; and with his extraordinarily long arms he could throw a maul or toss a cannon-ball farther than any of them. Besides, he could tell the kind of funny stories they could understand; and he kept them laughing for hours at his back-woods tales.

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那一天，全村的人都围在白橡树下，观看林肯和“闪耀的丛林男孩”的头儿杰克·阿姆斯特朗（Jack Armstrong）比赛摔跤。在“闪耀的丛林男孩”看来，当林肯将阿姆斯特朗摔倒在地的时候，他在新塞勒姆村的声望便达到了巅峰。从那以后，丛林男孩们便与他做了朋友，并且十分拥护他。他们委派他做赛马和斗鸡的裁判，在他失业又无家可归的时候把他带回家供他吃住。

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He reached the high-water mark of his career in New Salem, as far as the Clary’s Grove Boys were concerned, on the day all the town gathered under the white-oak trees to see him wrestle with their leader, Jack Armstrong. When Lincoln laid Armstrong out, he had arrived, he had achieved the ultimate. From that time on the Clary’s Grove Boys gave him their friendship and crowned him with their allegiance. They appointed him judge of their horse-races and referee of their cock-fights. And when Lincoln was out of work and had no home, they took him into their cabins and fed him.

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在新塞勒姆村，林肯找到了数年来一直渴求的机会——在公众面前克服恐惧，学习演讲。在印第安纳州的时候，能让林肯当众演讲的唯一机会便是在田地里，而观众也只有寥寥几个农民。但在新塞勒姆村，有一个名叫“文学会”的组织，每周六晚都在拉特利奇旅馆的餐厅里聚会。林肯无比热情地参与其中，还成了灵魂人物。他讲故事，朗诵自己写的诗，针对一些话题，例如桑加蒙河的航运问题，做即兴发言，有时还会针对当下的各种问题展开辩论。

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Lincoln found here in New Salem an opportunity he had been seeking for years, an opportunity to conquer his fears and learn to speak in public. Back in Indiana the only chance that he had had at this sort of thing had been in talking to little groups of laborers in the felds. But here in New Salem there was an organized “literary society” that met every Saturday night in the dining-room of the Rutledge tavern. Lincoln joined it with alacrity and took a leading part on its program, telling stories, reading verses that he had written himself, making extemporaneous talks on such subjects as the navigation of the Sangamon River, and debating the various questions of the day.

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这项活动弥足珍贵。它开拓了林肯的眼界，唤醒了他的雄心。他发现自己有一种特殊的能力：能够利用自己的演讲感染旁人。认识到这一点后，他充满勇气，变得前所未有地自信。

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This activity was priceless. It widened his mental horizon and awakened his ambition. He discovered that he had an unusual ability to infuence other men by his speech. That knowledge developed his courage and self-confdence as nothing else had ever done.

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几个月后，奥福特的杂货铺倒闭了，林肯因此失去了工作。正巧一场大选在即，整个州都在为政治疯狂，因此林肯打算靠自己的演讲能力闯荡一番。

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In a few months Offut’s store failed and Lincoln was out of a job. Anelection was coming on, the State was seething with politics, and so he proposed to cash in on his ability to speak.

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在当地的格林汉姆老师（Mentor Graham）的帮助下，林肯花了几个星期的时间准备了他的第一次公开演讲。在演讲中，他宣布自己参加州议员竞选。他宣布自己将侧重“内在水平的提高……桑加蒙河的航运问题……更好的教育……公正”等。

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With the aid of Mentor Graham, the local school-teacher, he toiled for weeks over his frst address to the public, in which he announced that he was a candidate for the State Legislature. He stated that he favored “internal improvements... the navigation of the Sangamon... better education... justice,” and so on.

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在演讲结尾，他说：

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In closing he said:

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“从出生起直到现在，我的生活都很卑微。我没有有钱的或路子广的亲戚朋友推荐我。”紧接着便是一句唤起同情的话，“如果诸位充满智慧的公民认为我就适合待在社会最底层，那我也早已习惯了这种结果将带来的失望和懊恼。”

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“I was born and have ever remained in the most humble walks of life. I have no wealthy or popular relatives or friends to recommend me.” And he concluded with this pathetic sentence: “But if the good people in their wisdom shall see ft to keep me in the background, I have been too familiar with disappointments to be very much chagrined.”

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几天后，有人骑着马风风火火地闯进新塞勒姆村，带来了一条令人震惊的消息：印第安索克族首领黑鹰带着手下的勇士开战了。他们焚烧房屋，掳掠妇女，屠杀移民，罗克河沿岸因此笼罩在一片血腥的恐怖气氛中。

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A few days later a horseman dashed into New Salem with the startling news that the great Sac Indian chief, Black Hawk, was on the war-path with his braves, burning homes, capturing women, massacring settlers, and spreading red terror along Rock River.

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雷诺兹州长（Governor Reynolds）彻底慌了，四处召集志愿军。“失业又身无分文的政界候选人”林肯参加了志愿军，入伍三十天后便升为了队长。他曾试图让“闪耀的丛林男孩”参加训练，但他们的答复是：“见鬼去吧！”

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In a panic Governor Reynolds was calling for volunteers; and Lincoln, “out of work, penniless, a candidate for offce,” joined the forces for thirty days, was elected captain, and tried to drill the Clary’s Grove Boys, who shouted back at his commands, “Go to the devil.”

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赫恩登说林肯将那场对抗黑鹰的战争看成“一次假日旅行，一场偷鸡般的远征”。事实也确实如此。

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Herndon says Lincoln always regarded his participation in the Black Hawk War “as a sort of holiday affair and chickenstealing expedition.” It was just about that.

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后来，林肯在某次国会演说中说道，他在那次战争中根本没有攻击过印第安人，只是“打过野蒜头”。他说他连印第安人的影子都没看见，不过却“和蚊子进行了血淋淋的战斗”。

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Later, in the course of a speech in Congress, Lincoln declared that he didn’t attack any redskins, but that he made “charges upon the wild onions.” He said he didn’t see any Indians, but that he had “a good many bloody struggles with the mosquitoes.”

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从战场回来后，“林肯队长”再次投入政治竞选中。他挨家挨户地游走，和人们一一握手，给人们讲故事，认可人们的观点，一旦发现人群便随时随地进行演讲。

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Returning from the war, “Captain Lincoln” plunged again into hispolitical campaign, going from cabin to cabin, shaking hands, telling stories, agreeing with every one, and making speeches whenever and wherever he could fnd a crowd.

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大选开始了，林肯失败了。新塞勒姆村一共投出了两百零八票，林肯只获得了三票。

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When the election came he was defeated, although he received all but three of the two hundred and eight votes cast in New Salem.

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两年后，他再次参选。这一次他当选了。为此，他不得不借钱买了一套可以进入议会的衣服。

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Two years later he ran again, was elected, and had to borrow money to buy a suit of clothes to wear to the legislature.

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林肯分别于一八三六年、一八三八年和一八四〇年三度当选。

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He was reelected in 1836, 1838, and 1840.

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当时，在新塞勒姆村有一个游手好闲的家伙，名叫杰克·凯尔索（Jake Kelso）。他的妻子为了生计，不得不招揽房客补贴家用，但他自己却只管钓鱼、拉提琴、朗诵诗歌。村里的大多数人都看不起杰克，觉得他是个失败者，但林肯却很喜欢他，还和他做了朋友，并且深受他的影响。在遇到凯尔索之前，林肯对莎士比亚和彭斯所知甚少，他们对于林肯来说，只是两个模糊的名字。但是现在，当他坐在杰克·凯尔索身旁，听他朗读《哈姆雷特》，背诵《麦克白》的时候，他才第一次认识到英语还能像交响乐一样美妙。那些语言是那么优美，像一阵旋风般席卷了林肯的心灵。

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There was living in New Salem at that time a ne’er-do-well whose wife had to take in boarders while he fished and played the fiddle and recited poetry. Most of the people in town looked down upon Jack Kelso as a failure. But Lincoln liked him, chummed with him, and was greatly infuenced by him. Before he met Kelso, Shakspere and Burns had meant little to Lincoln; they had been merely names, and vague names at that. But now as he sat listening to Jack Kelso reading “Hamlet” and reciting “Macbeth,” Lincoln realized for the frst time what symphonies could be played with the English language. What a thing of infnite beauty it could be! What a whirlwind of sense and emotion!

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对于莎士比亚，林肯充满着敬仰之心；但对彭斯，他是热爱、同情的，甚至觉得自己和彭斯血肉相连。彭斯曾和林肯一样贫穷。彭斯出生的小屋和林肯出生的小屋一样破旧。彭斯也是农家子弟。彭斯善良敏感，对他来说，在地里用犁翻出一窝田鼠是一件值得写入诗歌永久记忆的哀伤故事。彭斯和莎士比亚的诗歌为林肯开启了一个充满意义、情感和爱的世界。

38
-

Shakspere awed him, but Bobby Burns won his love and sympathy. He felt even a kinship with Burns. Burns had been poor like Lincoln. Burns had been born in a cabin no better than the one that had seen Abe’s birth. Burns too had been a plowboy. But a plowboy to whom the plowing up of the nest of a field-mouse was a tiny tragedy, an event worthy of being caught up and immortalized in a poem. Through the poetry of Burns and Shakspere, a whole new world of meaning and feeling and loveliness opened up to Abraham Lincoln.

39
-

但最让林肯震惊的是，莎士比亚和彭斯都没上过大学。他们和他一样，并没有接受过多的学校教育。

39
-

But to him the most astounding thing of all was this: neither Shakspere nor Burns had gone to college. Neither of them had had muchmore schooling and education than he.

40
-

这让林肯忍不住想，也许，没读过什么书的自己——目不识丁的汤姆·林肯的儿子——也能像他们一样成就一番事业。也许，这样的自己不一定一辈子都只是一个杂货铺店员或铁匠。

40
-

At times he dared to think that perhaps he too, the unschooled son of illiterate Tom Lincoln, might be ftted for fner things. Perhaps it would not be necessary for him to go on forever selling groceries or working as a blacksmith.

41
-

从那时起，彭斯和莎士比亚成了他最喜欢的作家。他读的莎士比亚的作品比读的其他作家的作品加起来还要多。这对他的文风产生了很大的影响。甚至在他入主白宫之后，当内战所带来的重负和忧虑在他的脸上刻下深深的皱纹时，他仍会花很多时间阅读莎士比亚的作品。他虽然日理万机，但仍会抽出时间和研究莎士比亚的专家们讨论戏剧，或者就某些特定篇章与他们通信交流。在遇刺的那个星期，他曾花费两个小时为一圈朋友大声朗读《麦克白》。

41
-

From that time on Burns and Shakspere were his favorite authors. He read more of Shakspere than of all other authors put together, and this reading left its imprint upon his style. Even after he reached the White House, when the burdens and worries of the Civil War were chiseling deep furrows in his face, he devoted much time to Shakspere. Busy as he was, he discussed the plays with Shaksperian authorities, and carried on a correspondence regarding certain passages. The week he was shot, he read “Macbeth” aloud for two hours to a circle of friends.

42
-

新塞勒姆村那个得过且过的渔民杰克·凯尔索带给林肯的影响一直持续到他进入白宫。

42
-

The infuence of Jack Kelso, the shiftless New Salem fsherman, had reached to the White House....

43
-

新塞勒姆村的创建人，也是一家旅馆的主人，名叫詹姆斯·拉特利奇（James Rutledge），是一个南方人，有一个极其迷人的女儿，名叫安。林肯遇到她的时候，她只有十九岁。安长得很漂亮，有一双迷人的蓝眼睛，还有一头赭色的头发。虽然她已经和村里最有钱的商人订了婚，但林肯还是爱上了她。

43
-

The founder of New Salem and the keeper of the tavern was a Southerner named James Rutledge, and he had a most attractive daughter, Ann. She was only nineteen when Lincoln met her—a beautiful girl with blue eyes and auburn hair. Despite the fact that she was already engaged to the richest merchant in town, Lincoln fell in love with her.

44
-

安已经答应嫁给约翰·麦克尼尔（John McNeil），但双方约定两年后等她读完大学再结婚。

44
-

Ann had already promised to become the wife of John McNeil, but it was understood that they were not to be married until she had had two years of college.

45
-

林肯刚到新塞勒姆村不久，村里便发生了一件怪事。麦克尼尔卖掉了自己的商店，说要回到纽约州将他的父母和家人接到伊利诺伊州来。但在临走前，他向安·拉特利奇坦白了一些事情，安差点没吓晕过去。但当时安很年轻，也很爱他，所以选择相信了他的故事。

45
-

Lincoln had not been in New Salem very long when a strange thing happened. McNeil sold his store and said that he was returning to New York State to bring his mother and father and family back to Illinois. But before leaving town he confessed something to Ann Rutledge that almost stunned her. However, she was young and she loved him, and she believed his story.

46
-

几天后，麦克尼尔从新塞勒姆村出发了，挥手向安告别，并许诺会给她写信。

46
-

A few days later, he set out from Salem, waving good-by to Ann andpromising to write often.

47
-

当时，林肯是村里的邮递员。驿站的马车每周会送两次信，但通常都只有寥寥几封，因为根据邮程长短，寄一封信要花费六点二五美分到二十五美分不等。林肯将信放在帽子里，当人们遇到他向他询问是否有自己的信时，他总会摘下帽子，查找一番。

47
-

Lincoln was postmaster of the village then. The mail arrived by stage-coach twice a week, and there was very little of it, for it cost from six and a quarter cents to twenty-fve to send a letter, depending on the distance it must travel. Lincoln carried the letters about in his hat. When people met him they would ask if he had any mail for them, and he would pull off his hat and look through his collection to see what he had.

48
-

每周安·拉特利奇都会询问两次是否有她的信。三个月过去了，她收到了麦克尼尔的第一封信。麦克尼尔在信中解释之所以没有很快给她写信，是因为他在穿越俄亥俄州的时候生病发高烧，在床上躺了三个礼拜，其中多数时间处于昏迷状态。

48
-

Twice each week Ann Rutledge inquired for a letter. Three months passed before the first one arrived. McNeil explained that he had not written sooner because he had been taken sick with a fever while crossing Ohio, and had been in bed for three weeks—part of the time unconscious.

49
-

又过了三个月，安收到了第二封信。但这封信对于安来说，还不如没收到来得好。麦克尼尔的语气冷淡又含混。他说他的父亲病得很重，说自己一直被父亲的债权人骚扰，还说不知道什么时候才能回来。

49
-

Three more months passed before the next letter came; and when it arrived it was almost worse than no letter at all. It was cold and vague. He said that his father was very ill, that he was being harassed by his father’s creditors, and that he did not know when he would be back.

50
-

在那之后，安又等了几个月，但再也没有收到麦克尼尔的任何消息。他真的爱过自己吗？她开始怀疑。

50
-

After that Ann watched the mail for months, hoping for more letters which never came. Had he ever really loved her at all? She had begun now to doubt it.

51
-

林肯看到了安的消沉，于是自愿帮安寻找麦克尼尔的下落。

51
-

Lincoln, seeing her distress, volunteered to try to fnd McNeil.

52
-

“不用了，”她说，“他知道我在哪里，如果他都不愿意费心给我写信，我也肯定不会费心让你去找他。”

52
-

“No,” she said, “he knows where I am, and if he doesn’t care enough to write to me I am sure I do not care enough to have you try to fnd him.”

53
-

然后她告诉了父亲麦克尼尔临走之前坦白的事情。麦克尼尔坦白自己多年来一直在用化名，他的真名并不是新塞勒姆村的人所熟知的“麦克尼尔”，而是叫“麦克纳马”。

53
-

Then she told her father of the extraordinary confession that McNeil had made before he left. He had admitted that he had been living under an assumed name for years. His real name was not McNeil, as every one in New Salem believed, but McNamar.

54
-

他为什么要骗人呢？他解释道，因为他的父亲在纽约州做生意失败了，负债累累。作为长子的他没有告知家人自己的去向，只身来到了西部赚钱。他担心如果用了真名，他的家人会发现他的下落，然后找到他。这样他就必须帮他们还钱。但他不希望自己在努力重新开始的时候被如此重担拖累，他很可能因此白干很多年，所以他用了化名。但现在他已经积累了很多财富，所以打算将父母接到伊利诺伊州，让他们分享自己的财富。

54
-

Why had he practised this deception? His father, he explained, had failed in business, back in New York State, and had become heavily involved in debts. He, being the eldest son, had, without disclosing his destination, come West to make money. He feared that if he used his rightname, his family might learn of his whereabouts and follow him, and he would be obliged to support them all. He didn’t want to be hampered by any such burden while struggling to make a start. It might delay his progress for years. So he took an assumed name. But now that he had accumulated property he was going to bring his parents to Illinois and let them share his prosperity.

55
-

这件事在村里传开后，引起了不小的轰动。大家都认为麦克尼尔是个大骗子，他的故事纯粹是个谎言。情况看上去很糟，而流言蜚语让事情变得更糟了。没有人知道他到底是什么人。也许他已经结过婚，也许他在外面藏了两三个老婆，也许他抢过银行，也许他杀过人。也许他是这样，也许他是那样，没有人知道真相。不过，庆幸的是他抛弃了安·拉特利奇。为此，安真应该感谢上帝。

55
-

When the story got abroad in the village it created a sensation. People called it a damn lie and branded him as an impostor. The situation looked bad and gossip made the worst of it. He was—well, there was no telling what he was. Perhaps he was already married. Maybe he was hiding from two or three wives. Who knew? Maybe he had robbed a bank. Maybe he had murdered somebody. Maybe he was this. Maybe he was that. He had deserted Ann Rutledge, and she ought to thank God for it.

56
-

这些都是新塞勒姆村村民的想法。林肯什么也没说，但思考了很多。

56
-

Such was New Salem’s verdict. Lincoln said nothing, but he thought much.

57
-

终于，他一直期待着、祈祷着的机会来临了。

57
-

At last the chance for which he had hoped and prayed had come.

序号 英文/音标 中文解释 更多操作

plow

[plau]

n.犁;耕地

malling

[mɔːl]

n.逛商场

butcher

[’bʊtʃə(r)]

n.屠夫;刽子手;肉商;小贩

prairie

[’preəri]

n.大草原

exterminate

[ɪk’stɜːmɪneɪt]

vt.消灭;扑灭;根绝

jean

[dʒiːn]

n.斜纹布(复数)jeans:牛仔裤.

dye

[daɪ]

n.染料;染色

bark

[bɑːk]

v.(狗)吠;咆哮

grind

[ɡraɪnd]

v.磨;压迫;碾碎;磨得吱吱响;逐渐停顿

roar

[rɔː(r)]

v.吼叫;咆哮

Novelty

[’nɒvlti]

n.【C】新奇;小装饰

Madame

[’mædəm]

n.夫人

Negro

[’niːɡrəʊ]

adj.黑人的

cent

[sent]

n.分

hew

[hjuː]

vt. 劈，砍;

bacon

[’beɪkən]

n.培根;咸肉;熏肉

scorn

[skɔːn]

n.轻蔑;奚落;笑柄

strut

[strʌt]

n.高视阔步;支柱

whisker

[’wɪskə(r)]

n.腮须胡须;似须物;几乎要做

curl

[kɜːl]

n.卷曲;卷发;年轮;漩涡;【足】曲线球

behold

[bɪ’həʊld]

vt.看到;注视;领悟

scourge

[skɜːdʒ]

n.灾难;祸患;鞭子

awaken

[ə’weɪkən]

v.醒;意识到;唤醒;激起;使意识到;使唤醒

realization

[ˌriːəlaɪ’zeɪʃn]

n.实现;领悟

thorough

[’θʌrə]

adj.彻底的;完全的;详尽的;细致深入的

bidder

[’bɪdə(r)]

n.出价人;投标人

revolt

[rɪ’vəʊlt]

n.叛乱;反抗;反感

perching

[’pɜːtʃɪŋ]

n.栖息;验布;铲软,

tremendous

[trə’mendəs]

adj.巨大的;惊人的

ruffian

[’rʌfiən]

n.恶棍

whiskey

[’wɪskɪ]

n.威士忌酒.

profane

[prə’feɪn]

adj.亵渎的;不敬神的;世俗的

frank

[fræŋk]

a. 坦白；率直;

maul

[mɔːl]

n.大槌

Jack

[dʒæk]

n.杰克(男子名)

crown

[kraʊn]

n.王冠;王权;花冠

referee

[ˌrefə’riː]

n.裁判员;仲裁人;鉴定人;证明人

laborer

[’leɪbərə]

n.劳动者;劳工.

verse

[vɜːs]

n.诗;韵文;诗节

navigation

[ˌnævɪ’ɡeɪʃn]

n.导航;航行;航海

priceless

[’praɪsləs]

adj.无价的

seethe

[siːð]

v.沸腾;大怒;起泡

politic

[’pɒlətɪk]

adj.精明的;圆滑的;慎重的

toil

[tɔɪl]

n.辛苦;苦工;罗网;圈套

pathetic

[pə’θetɪk]

adj.可怜的;不足的;感伤的;悲哀的

startlingly

[’stɑːtlɪŋli]

v.惊人地

Hawk

[hɔːk]

vt. 叫卖；吆喝;

massacre

[’mæsəkə(r)]

n.大屠杀;惨败

settler

[’setlə(r)]

n.【C】移居者;定居者

casting

[’kɑːstɪŋ]

n.铸造

boarder

[’bɔːdə(r)]

n.搭伙者;寄宿者;滑雪者

fiddle

[’fɪdl]

n.小提琴;骗局

recite

[rɪ’saɪt]

vt.背诵;朗诵;叙述;列举

Chum

[tʃʌm]

n.密友;鱼饵

Hamlet

[’hæmlət]

n.哈姆雷特n.小村;部落

symphony

[’sɪmfəni]

n.交响乐

awe

[ɔː]

n.敬畏;恐惧

felted

[’feltɪd]

v. 把 ... 制成毡(使 ... 粘结)

immortalize

[ɪ’mɔːtəlaɪz]

vt.使不朽;使名垂千古

Abraham

[’eɪbrəˌhæm]

n.亚伯拉罕(男子名)

correspondence

[ˌkɒrə’spɒndəns]

n.通信;信件;相符，相似;一致，相当

nineteen

[ˌnaɪn’tiːn]

十九

York

[jɔːk]

约克郡;〈板球〉使击球员出局

stun

[stʌn]

vt.使震惊;使目瞪口呆;使昏迷

good-by

[gʊd’baɪ]

int.再见

sooner

[’suːnə]

adv. soon的比较级

harass

[’hærəs]

vt.使疲乏;骚扰

creditor

[’kredɪtə(r)]

n.债权人;债主

distress

[dɪ’stres]

n.不幸;危难;苦恼;痛苦

Salem

[’seɪləm]

n.塞伦(地名)

deception

[dɪ’sepʃn]

n.骗局;诡计;欺诈

oblige

[ə’blaɪdʒ]

vt.迫使;责成;使感激;施恩于;帮 ... 的忙;使…成为必要

hamper

[’hæmpə(r)]

vt.妨碍;阻止

gossip

[’ɡɒsɪp]

n.流言蜚语;爱说长道短的人;闲话

verdict

[’vɜːdɪkt]

n.裁决;定论

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