John Gibson Lockhart - The Death of Sir Walter 汉译

As I was dressing on the morning of Monday, the 17^th of September, Nicolson came into my room, and told me that his master had awoke in a state of composure and consciousness, and wished to see me immediately. I found him entirely himself, though in the last extreme of feebleness. His eye was clear and calm—every trace of the wild fire of delirium extinguished. “Lockhart”, he said, “I may have but a minute to speak to you. My dear, be a good man—be virtuous—be religious—be a good man. Nothing else will give you any comfort when you come to lie here.” He paused, and I said, “Shall I send for Sophia and Anne?” “No,” said he, “don’t disturb them. Poor souls! I know they were up all night—God bless you all.” With this he sunk into a very tranquil sleep, and, indeed, he scarcely afterwards gave any sign of consciousness, except for an instant on the arrival of his sons. They, on learning that the scene was about to close, obtained anew leave of absence from their posts, and both reached Abbotsford on the 19^th. About half-past one p.m., on the 21^st of September, Sir Walter breathed his last, in the presence of all his children. It was a beautiful day—so warm that every window was wide open, and so perfectly still that the sound of all others most delicious to his ear, the gentle ripple of the Tweed over its pebbles, was distinctly audible as we knelt around the bed, and his eldest son kissed and closed his eyes.

<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> 

瓦尔特爵士之死

星期一（9月17日）早晨，我在穿衣服，尼科尔森进来了，告诉我他的主人醒了，神情镇静，头脑清醒，并且希望立即见我。虽然他身体极度虚弱，但我发现他状态如常，眼睛明亮，眼神安详——那种神志不清时眼神恍惚的迹象一点也没有了。“洛克哈特，”他说，“我也许只有一分钟的时间和你说说话。亲爱的，做一个好人——为人要讲道德，信教要虔诚——做一个好人。当你将来躺在这里时，没有别的东西会让你感到安慰。”他停下了。我说：“要我找人把索菲亚和安妮叫来吗？”“不用了，”他说，“别打扰她们了。可怜的人哪！我知道她们一夜没睡——上帝保佑你们大家。”说完他又安静地睡了。此后几乎没再看出他有任何意识，只是在他的儿子们到来时清醒了一会儿。他们听说他快不行了便又从工作岗位上请了假，哥俩于19日回到阿伯茨福德。9月21日下午一点半，瓦尔他爵士停止呼吸，当时他的孩子们都在身边。那天天气很好——很暖和，窗户都打开了，外面非常安静，周围人们发出的声音让他感觉温馨，外面围着他的床榻跪着，他的大儿子吻着他的眼睛并将其合上，特威德河水的微波流过鹅卵石时发出的潺潺声清晰可辨。