So I went. Ishall never forget the impression my visit made on me. I live on an atoll, alow island, it is a strip of land surrounding a lagoon, and its beauty is thebeauty of the sea and sky and the varied colour of the lagoon and the grace ofthe cocoa-nut trees; but the place where Strickland lived had the beauty of theGarden of Eden. Ah, I wish I could make you see the enchantment of that spot, acorner hidden away from all the world, with the blue sky overhead and the rich,luxuriant trees. It was a feast of colour. And it was fragrant and cool. Wordscannot describe that paradise. And here he lived, unmindful of the world and bythe world forgotten. I suppose to European eyes it would have seemedastonishingly sordid. The house was dilapidated and none too clean. Three orfour natives were lying on the verandah. You know how natives love to herdtogether. There was a young man lying full length, smoking a cigarette, and hewore nothing but a pareo"

The pareo is along strip of trade cotton, red or blue, stamped with a white pattern. It isworn round the waist and hangs to the knees.

"A girl offifteen, perhaps, was plaiting pandanus-leaf to make a hat, and an old womanwas sitting on her haunches smoking a pipe. Then I saw Ata. She was suckling anew-born child, and another child, stark naked, was playing at her feet. Whenshe saw me she called out to Strickland, and he came to the door. He, too, worenothing but a pareo. He was an extraordinary figure, with his red beard andmatted hair, and his great hairy chest. His feet were horny and scarred, sothat I knew he went always bare foot. He had gone native with a vengeance. Heseemed pleased to see me, and told Ata to kill a chicken for our dinner. Hetook me into the house to show me the picture he was at work on when I came in.In one corner of the room was the bed, and in the middle was an easel with thecanvas upon it. Because I was sorry for him, I had bought a couple of hispictures for small sums, and I had sent others to friends of mine in France.And though I had bought them out of compassion, after living with them I beganto like them. Indeed, I found a strange beauty in them. Everyone thought I wasmad, but it turns out that I was right. I was his first admirer in the islands."

于是我就去了。我这次去的印象永远也不会忘记。我的住家是在珊瑚岛上，是环抱着咸水湖的一个低矮的环形小岛。那地方的美是海天茫茫的美。是湖水变幻不定的色彩和椰子树的摇曳多姿。而思特里克兰德住的地方却是另一种美，好象是生活在伊甸园里。哎呀，我真希望我能把那迷惑人的地方描摹给你们听。与人寰隔绝的一个幽僻的角落，头顶上是蔚蓝的天空，四围一片郁郁苍苍的树木。那里是观赏不尽的色彩，芬芳馥郁的香气，荫翳凉爽的空气。这个人世乐园是无法用言语形容的。他就住在那里，不关心世界上的事，世界也把他完全遗忘。我想，在欧洲人的眼睛里，那地方也许显得太肮脏了一些；房子破破烂烂，而且收拾得一点儿也不干净。我刚走近那幢房子，就看见凉台上躺着三四个当地人。你知道这里的人总爱凑在一起。我看见一个年轻人摊开了身体在地上躺着，抽着纸烟，身上除了一条帕利欧以外任什么也没有穿。”

所谓帕利欧就是一长条印着白色图案的红色或蓝色的棉布，围在腰上，下面搭在膝盖上。

“一个女孩子，大概有十五六岁吧，正在用凤梨树叶编草帽，一个老太婆蹲在地上抽烟袋。后来我才看到爱塔，她正在给一个刚出世不久的小孩喂奶，另外一个小孩，光着屁股，在她脚底下玩。爱塔看见我以后，就招呼思特里克兰德。思特里克兰德从屋子里走到门口。他身上同样也只围着一件帕利欧。他留着大红胡子，头发粘成一团，胸上长满了汗毛，样子真是古怪。他的两只脚磨得起了厚茧，还有许多疤痕，我一看就知道他从不穿鞋。说实在的，他简直比当地人更加土化。他看见我好象很高兴，吩咐爱塔杀一只鸡招待我。他把我领进屋子里，给我看我来的时候他正在画的一张画。屋子的一个角落里摆着一张床，当中是一个画架，画架上钉着一块画布。因为我觉得他挺可怜，所以花了不多钱买了他几张画。这些画大多数我都寄给法国的朋友了。虽然我当时买这些画是出于对他的同情，但是时间长了，我还是喜欢上它们了。我发现这些画有一种奇异的美。别人都说我发疯了，但事实证明我是正确的。我是这个地区第一个能鉴赏他的绘画的人。”

Tenez, voila leCapitaine Brunot, " said Tiare, one day when I was fitting together whatshe could tell me of Strickland. "He knew Strickland well; he visited himat his house. "

I saw amiddle-aged Frenchman with a big black beard, streaked with gray, a sunburnedface, and large, shining eyes. He was dressed in a neat suit of ducks. I hadnoticed him at luncheon, and Ah Lin, the Chinese boy, told me he had come fromthe Paumotus on the boat that had that day arrived. Tiare introduced me to him,and he handed me his card, a large card on which was printed Rene Brunot, andunderneath, Capitaine au Long Cours. We were sitting on a little verandahoutside the kitchen, and Tiare was cutting out a dress that she was making forone of the girls about the house. He sat down with us.

"Yes; Iknew Strickland well, " he said. "I am very fond of chess, and he wasalways glad of a game. I come to Tahiti three or four times a year for mybusiness, and when he was at Papeete he would come here and we would play. Whenhe married" -- Captain Brunot smiled and shrugged his shoulders -- "enfin, when he went to live with the girl that Tiare gave him, he asked me togo and see him. I was one of the guests at the wedding feast. " He lookedat Tiare, and they both laughed. "He did not come much to Papeete afterthat, and about a year later it chanced that I had to go to that part of theisland for I forgot what business, and when I had finished it I said to myself:` Voyons, why should I not go and see that poor Strickland?' I asked one or twonatives if they knew anything about him, and I discovered that he lived notmore than five kilometres from where I was.

“看啊，那就是布吕诺船长①，”有一天，我脑子里正在往一块拼缀蒂阿瑞给我讲的关于思特里克兰德的片片断断的故事时，她忽然喊叫起来。“这个人同思特里克兰德很熟。他到思特里克兰德住的地方去过。”

①原文为法语。

我看到的是一个已过中年的法国人，蓄着一大捧黑胡子，不少已经花白，一张晒得黝黑的面孔，一对闪闪发光的大眼睛。他身上穿着一套很整洁的帆布衣服。其实吃午饭的时候我已经注意到他了，旅馆的一个中国籍侍者阿林告诉我，他是从包莫图斯岛来的，他乘的船当天刚刚靠岸。蒂阿瑞把我引见给他；他递给我一张名片。名片很大，当中印着他的姓名——勒内·布吕诺，下面一行小字是“龙谷号船长”。我同蒂阿瑞当时正坐在厨房外面的一个小凉台上，蒂阿瑞在给她手下的一个女孩子裁衣服。布吕诺船长就和我们一起坐下了。

“是的，我同思特里克兰德很熟，”他说。“我喜欢下棋，他也是只要找到个棋友就同人下。我每年为了生意上的事要到塔希提来三四回，如果他凑巧也在帕皮提，总要找我来一起玩几盘。后来，他结婚了，”——说到结婚两个字布吕诺船长笑了笑，耸了一下肩膀——“在同蒂阿瑞介绍给他的那个女孩子到乡下去住以前，他邀请我有机会去看看他。举行婚礼那天我也是贺客之一。”他看了蒂阿瑞一眼，两个人都笑了。“结婚以后，他就很少到帕皮提来了。大约一年以后，凑巧我到他居住的那一带去，我忘了是为办一件什么事了。事情办完以后，我对自己说：‘嗳，我干嘛不去看看可怜的思特里克兰德呀？’我向一两个本地的人打听，问他们知道不知道有这么一个人，结果我发现他住的地方离我那儿还不到五公里远。

Then thecocoa-nuts would be ripe for picking, and her cousins (like all the natives,Ata had a host of relatives) would swarm up the trees and throw down the bigripe nuts. They split them open and put them in the sun to dry. Then they cutout the copra and put it into sacks, and the women would carry it down to thetrader at the village by the lagoon, and he would give in exchange for it riceand soap and tinned meat and a little money. Sometimes there would be a feastin the neighbourhood, and a pig would be killed. Then they would go and eatthemselves sick, and dance, and sing hymns.

But the housewas a long way from the village, and the Tahitians are lazy. They love totravel and they love to gossip, but they do not care to walk, and for weeks ata time Strickland and Ata lived alone. He painted and he read, and in theevening, when it was dark, they sat together on the verandah, smoking andlooking at the night. Then Ata had a baby, and the old woman who came up tohelp her through her trouble stayed on. Presently the granddaughter of the oldwoman came to stay with her, and then a youth appeared -- no one quite knewwhere from or to whom he belonged -- but he settled down with them in ahappy-go-lucky way, and they all lived together,

不久以后，椰子成熟，就该到采摘的时候了。爱塔的表兄表弟、堂兄堂弟（象所有的土人一样，她的亲戚数也数不过来）成群结队地爬到树上去，把成熟的大椰子扔下来。他们把椰子剖开，放在太阳底下晒。晒干以后就把椰肉取出来，装在口袋里。妇女们把一袋袋的椰肉运到咸水湖附近一个村落的贸易商人那里，换回来大米、肥皂、罐头肉和一点点儿钱。有时候邻村有什么庆贺宴会，就要杀猪。附近的人蜂拥到那里，又是跳舞，又是唱赞美诗，大吃大喝一顿，吃得人人都快要呕吐了。

但是他们的房子离附近的村子很远，塔希提的人是不喜欢活动的。他们喜欢旅行，喜欢闲聊天，就是不喜欢走路。有时候一连几个星期也没有人到思特里克兰德同爱塔家里来。思特里克兰德画画儿、看书，天黑了以后，就同爱塔一起坐在凉台上，一边抽烟一边望着天空。后来爱塔给他生了一个孩子。生孩子的时候来服侍她的一个老婆婆待下来，一直也没有走。不久，老婆婆的一个孙女也来同他们住在一起，后来又来了个小伙子——谁也不清楚这个人从哪儿来，同哪个人有亲属关系——，他也毫无牵挂地在这里落了户。就这样他们逐渐成了个大家庭。

I suppose thenext three years were the happiest of Strickland's life. Ata's house stoodabout eight kilometres from the road that runs round the island, and you wentto it along a winding pathway shaded by the luxuriant trees of the tropics. Itwas a bungalow of unpainted wood, consisting of two small rooms, and outsidewas a small shed that served as a kitchen. There was no furniture except themats they used as beds, and a rocking-chair, which stood on the verandah.Bananas with their great ragged leaves, like the tattered habiliments of anempress in adversity, grew close up to the house. There was a tree just behindwhich bore alligator pears, and all about were the cocoa-nuts which gave theland its revenue. Ata's father had planted crotons round his property, and theygrew in coloured profusion, gay and brilliant; they fenced the land with flame.A mango grew in front of the house, and at the edge of the clearing were twoflamboyants, twin trees, that challenged the gold of the cocoa-nuts with theirscarlet flowers.

Here Stricklandlived, coming seldom to Papeete, on the produce of the land. There was a littlestream that ran not far away, in which he bathed, and down this on occasionwould come a shoal of fish. Then the natives would assemble with spears, andwith much shouting would transfix the great startled things as they hurrieddown to the sea. Sometimes Strickland would go down to the reef, and come backwith a basket of small, coloured fish that Ata would fry in cocoa-nut oil, orwith a lobster; and sometimes she would make a savoury dish of the greatland-crabs that scuttled away under your feet. Up the mountain were wild-orangetrees, and now and then Ata would go with two or three women from the villageand return laden with the green, sweet, luscious fruit. 

我想，这以后的三年是思特里克兰德一生中最幸福的一段日子。爱塔的房子距离环岛公路有八公里远，要到那里去需要走过一条为热带丛林浓荫覆盖着的羊肠小道。这是一幢用本色木头盖成的带凉台的平房，一共有两间屋子，屋外还有一间用作厨房的小棚子。室内没有家具，地上铺着席子当床用。只有凉台上放着一把摇椅。

芭蕉树一直长到房子的跟前；巨大的叶子破破烂烂，好象一位遭了厄运的女王的破烂衣衫。房子背后有一株梨树，房子四周到处种着能变钱花的椰子树。爱塔的父亲生前围着这片地产种了一圈巴豆；这些巴豆如今生得密密匝匝，开着绚烂的花朵，象一道火焰墙似地把椰林围绕起来。此外，正对着房子还有一棵芒果树，房前一块空地边上有两棵姊妹树，开着火红的花朵，同椰子树的金黄椰果竞相斗妍。

思特里克兰德就靠着这块地的出产过活，很少到帕皮提去。离他住的地方不远有一条小河，他经常在里面洗澡。有时候河水里有鱼群出现，土人们便拿着长矛从各处走来，大吵大嚷地把正向海里游去的受惊的大鱼叉上来。思特里克兰德有时候也到海滩上去，回来的时候总带来一筐各种颜色的小鱼。爱塔用椰子油把鱼炸了，有时还配上一只大海虾，另外她还常常给他做一盘味道鲜美的螃蟹，这种螃蟹在脚底下爬来爬去，一伸手就可以捉住。山上面长着野桔子树；爱塔偶然同村子里两三个女伴上山去，总是满载而归，带回许多芬芳甘美的绿色小桔子。

Thedrawing-room at the Hotel de la Fleur was a small room, with a cottage piano,and a suite of mahogany furniture, covered in stamped velvet, neatly arrangedaround the walls. On round tables were photograph albums, and on the wallsenlarged photographs of Tiare and her first husband, Captain Johnson. Still,though Tiare was old and fat, on occasion we rolled back the Brussels carpet,brought in the maids and one or two friends of Tiare's, and danced, though nowto the wheezy music of a gramaphone. On the verandah the air was scented withthe heavy perfume of the tiare, and overhead the Southern Cross shone in a cloudlesssky.

Tiare smiledindulgently as she remembered the gaiety of a time long passed.

"We keptit up till three, and when we went to bed I don't think anyone was very sober.I had told them they could have my trap to take them as far as the road went, becauseafter that they had a long walk. Ata's property was right away in a fold of themountain. They started at dawn, and the boy I sent with them didn't come backtill next day.

"Yes,that's how Strickland was married. "

鲜花旅馆的客厅并不大，摆着一架简易式的钢琴，沿着四边墙整整齐齐地摆着一套菲律宾红木家具，上面铺着烙着花的丝绒罩子，圆桌上放着几本照相簿，墙上挂着蒂阿瑞同她第一个丈夫约翰生船长的放大照片。虽然蒂阿瑞已经又老又胖，可是有几次我们还是把布鲁塞尔地毯卷起来，请来在旅馆里干活的女孩子同蒂阿瑞的两个朋友，跳起舞来，只不过伴奏的是由一台象害了气喘病似的唱机放出的音乐而已。露台上，空气里弥漫着蒂阿瑞花的浓郁香气，头顶上，南十字座星在万里无云的天空上闪烁发光。

蒂阿瑞回忆起很久以前的那次盛会，脸上不禁显出迷醉的笑容来。

“那天我们一直玩到半夜三点钟，上床的时候没有一个人不喝得醉醺醺的。我早就同他们讲好，他们可以乘我的小马车走，一直到大路通不过去的地方。那以后，他们还要走很长的一段路。爱塔的产业在很远很远的一处山峦叠抱的地方。他们天一亮就动身了，我派去送他们的仆人直到第二天才回来。

“不错，思特里克兰德就这样结婚了。”

"My firsthusband, Captain Johnson, used to thrash me regularly. He was a man. He washandsome, six foot three, and when he was drunk there was no holding him. Iwould be black and blue all over for days at a time. Oh, I cried when he died.I thought I should never get over it. But it wasn't till I married GeorgeRainey that I knew what I'd lost. You can never tell what a man is like tillyou live with him. I've never been so deceived in a man as I was in GeorgeRainey. He was a fine, upstanding fellow too. He was nearly as tall as CaptainJohnson, and he looked strong enough. But it was all on the surface. He neverdrank. He never raised his hand to me. He might have been a missionary. I madelove with the officers of every ship that touched the island, and George Raineynever saw anything. At last I was disgusted with him, and I got a divorce. Whatwas the good of a husband like that? It's a terrible thing the way some mentreat women. "

I condoled withTiare, and remarked feelingly that men were deceivers ever, then asked her togo on with her story of Strickland.

"`Well, 'I said to him, `there's no hurry about it. Take your time and think it over.Ata has a very nice room in the annexe. Live with her for a month, and see howyou like her. You can have your meals here. And at the end of a month, if youdecide you want to marry her, you can just go and settle down on her property.'

"Well, heagreed to that. Ata continued to do the housework, and I gave him his meals asI said I would. I taught Ata to make one or two dishes I knew he was fond of.He did not paint much. He wandered about the hills and bathed in the stream.And he sat about the front looking at the lagoon, and at sunset he would godown and look at Murea. He used to go fishing on the reef. He loved to moonabout the harbour talking to the natives. He was a nice, quiet fellow. Andevery evening after dinner he would go down to the annexe with Ata. I saw hewas longing to get away to the bush, and at the end of the month I asked himwhat he intended to do. He said if Ata was willing to go, he was willing to gowith her. So I gave them a wedding dinner. I cooked it with my own hands. Igave them a pea soup and lobster a la portugaise, and a curry, and a cocoa-nutsalad -- you've never had one of my cocoa-nut salads, have you? I must make youone before you go -- and then I made them an ice. We had all the champagne wecould drink and liqueurs to follow. Oh, I'd made up my mind to do things well.And afterwards we danced in the drawing-room. I was not so fat, then, and Ialways loved dancing. "

“我的第一个丈夫，约翰生船长，也总是经常不断地用鞭子抽我。他是个男子汉，六英尺三高，长得仪表堂堂。他一喝醉了，谁也劝不住他，总是把我浑身打得青一块、紫一块，多少天也退不去。咳，他死了的时候我那个哭啊。我想我这辈子再也不能从这个打击里恢复过来啦。但是我真的懂得我的损失多么大，那还是在我同乔治·瑞恩尼结婚以后。要是不跟一个男的一起生活，你是永远不会知道他是怎样一个人的。乔治·瑞恩尼叫我大失所望，任何一个男人也没有这么叫我失望过。他长得也挺漂亮，身材魁梧，差不多同约翰生船长一样高，看起来非常结实。但是这一切都是表面现象。他从来没有喝醉过，从来没有动手打过我。简直可以当个传教士。每一条轮船进港我都同船上的高级船员谈情说爱，可是乔治·瑞恩尼什么也看不见。最后我实在腻味他了，我跟他离了婚。嫁了这么一个丈夫有什么好处呢？有些男人对待女人的方式真是太可怕了。”

我安慰了一下蒂阿瑞，表示同情地说，男人总是叫女人上当的；接着我就请她继续给我讲思特里克兰德的故事。

“‘好吧，’我对思特里克兰德说，‘这事不用着急。慢慢地好好想一想。爱塔在厢房里有一间挺不错的屋子，你跟她一起生活一个月，看看是不是喜欢她。你可以在我这里吃饭。一个月以后，如果你决定同她结婚，你就可以到她那块地产上安下家来。’”

“他同意这样做。爱塔仍然给我干活儿，我叫思特里克兰德在我这里吃饭，象我答应过的那样。我教给爱塔做一两样他喜欢吃的菜。他并没有怎么画画儿。他在山里游荡，在河里边洗澡。他坐在海边上眺望咸水湖。每逢日落的时候，就到海边上去看莫里阿岛。他也常常到礁石上去钓鱼。他喜欢在码头上闲逛，同本地人东拉西扯。他从不叫叫嚷嚷，非常讨人喜欢。每天吃过晚饭他就同爱塔一起到厢房里去。我看得出来，他渴望回到丛林里去。到了一个月头上，我问他打算怎么办。他说，要是爱塔愿意走的话，他是愿意同爱塔一起走的。于是我给他们准备了一桌喜酒。我亲自下的厨。我给他们做了豌豆汤、葡萄牙式的大虾、咖喱饭和椰子色拉——你还没尝过我做的椰子色拉呢，是不是？在你离开这里以前我一定给你做一回——我还给他们准备了冰激凌。我们拼命地喝香槟，接着又喝甜酒。啊，我早就打定主意，一定要把婚礼办得象个样子。吃完了饭，我们就在客厅里跳舞。那时候我还不象现在这么胖，我从年轻的时候就喜欢跳舞。”

"It wasthen he told me of his wife in England. 'My poor Strickland, ' I said to him,'they've all got a wife somewhere; that is generally why they come to theislands. Ata is a sensible girl, and she doesn't expect any ceremony before theMayor. She's a Protestant, and you know they don't look upon these things likethe Catholics. '

"Then hesaid: `But what does Ata say to it?' `It appears that she has a beguin for you,' I said. `She's willing if you are. Shall I call her?' He chuckled in a funny,dry way he had, and I called her. She knew what I was talking about, the hussy,and I saw her out of the corner of my eyes listening with all her ears, whileshe pretended to iron a blouse that she had been washing for me. She came. Shewas laughing, but I could see that she was a little shy, and Strickland lookedat her without speaking. "

"Was shepretty?" I asked.

"Not bad.But you must have seen pictures of her. He painted her over and over again,sometimes with a pareo on and sometimes with nothing at all. Yes, she waspretty enough. And she knew how to cook. I taught her myself. I saw Stricklandwas thinking of it, so I said to him: 'I've given her good wages and she'ssaved them, and the captains and the first mates she's known have given her alittle something now and then. She's saved several hundred francs. '

"He pulledhis great red beard and smiled.

"`Well,Ata, ' he said, 'do you fancy me for a husband. '

"She didnot say anything, but just giggled.

"`But Itell you, my poor Strickland, the girl has a beguin for you, ' I said.

"I shallbeat you, ' he said, looking at her.

"`How elseshould I know you loved me, ' she answered. "

Tiare broke offher narrative and addressed herself to me reflectively.

“就在这个时候，他告诉我他在英国是有老婆的。‘我可怜的思特里克兰德，’我对他说，‘他们在别的地方都有个外家；一般说来，这也是为什么他们到我们这些岛上来的原故。爱塔是个通情达理的姑娘，她不要求当着市长的面举行什么仪式。她是个耶稣教徒，你知道，信耶稣教的对待这种事不象信天主教的人那么古板。’”

“这时候他说道：‘那么爱塔对这件事有什么意见呢？’‘看起来，她对你很有情意②，’我说，‘如果你愿意，她也会同意的。要不要我叫她来一下？’思特里克兰德咯咯地笑起来，象他平常那样，笑声干干巴巴，样子非常滑稽。于是我就把爱塔叫过来。爱塔知道刚才我在同思特里克兰德谈什么，这个骚丫头；我一直用眼角盯着她，她假装在给我熨一件刚刚洗过的罩衫，耳朵却一个字不漏地听着我们俩讲话。她走到我面前，咯咯地笑着，但是我看得出来，她有一些害羞。思特里克兰德打量了她一阵，没有说什么。”

②原文为法语。

“她长得好看吗？”我问。

“挺漂亮。但是你过去一定看到过她的画儿了。他给她画了一幅又一幅，有时候围着一件帕利欧①，有时候什么都不穿。不错，她长得蛮漂亮。她会做饭。是我亲自教会她的。我看到思特里克兰德正在琢磨这件事，我就对他说：‘我给她的工资很多，她都攒起来了。她认识的那些船长和大副有时候也送给她一点儿东西。她已经攒了好几百法郎了。’”

①当地人的服装，一种用土布做的束腰。

思特里克兰德一边揪着大红胡子，一边笑起来。

“‘喂，爱塔，’他说，‘你喜欢不喜欢叫我当你丈夫？’”

她什么话也没说，只是叽叽咯咯地笑着。

“‘我不是告诉你了吗，思特里克兰德，这个女孩子对你挺有情意②吗？’”我说。

②原文为法语。

“‘我可是要揍你的。’”他望着她说。

“‘你要是不打我，我怎么知道你爱我呢？’”她回答说。

蒂阿瑞把这个故事打断，回溯起自己的往事来。

"Yes; shehadn't a drop of white blood in her. Well, after I'd talked to her I sent forStrickland, and I said to him: `Strickland, it's time for you to settle down. Aman of your age shouldn't go playing about with the girls down at the front.They're bad lots, and you'll come to no good with them. You've got no money,and you can never keep a job for more than a month or two. No one will employyou now. You say you can always live in the bush with one or other of thenatives, and they're glad to have you because you're a white man, but it's notdecent for a white man. Now, listen to me, Strickland. '"

Tiare mingledFrench with English in her conversation, for she used both languages with equalfacility. She spoke them with a singing accent which was not unpleasing. Youfelt that a bird would speak in these tones if it could speak English.

"'Now,what do you say to marrying Ata? She's a good girl and she's only seventeen.She's never been promiscuous like some of these girls -- a captain or a firstmate, yes, but she's never been touched by a native. Elle se respecte, vois-tu.The purser of the Oahu told me last journey that he hadn't met a nicer girl inthe islands. It's time she settled down too, and besides, the captains and thefirst mates like a change now and then. I don't keep my girls too long. She hasa bit of property down by Taravao, just before you come to the peninsula, andwith copra at the price it is now you could live quite comfortably. There's ahouse, and you'd have all the time you wanted for your painting. What do yousay to it?"

Tiare paused totake breath.

“是的，一滴白人的血液也没有。就这样，在我同她谈了以后，我就派人把思特里克兰德找来，我对他说：‘思特里克兰德啊，你也该在这里安家落户了。象你这样年龄的人不应该再同码头边上的女人鬼混了。那里面没有好人，跟她们在一起你是落不出好儿来的。你又没有钱，不管什么事你都干不长，没有干过两个月的。现在没有人肯雇你了。尽管你说你可以同哪个土人一直住在丛林里头，他们也愿意同你住在一起，因为你是个白人，但是作为一个白人来说，你这种生活可不象样子。现在我给你出个主意，思特里克兰德。’”

蒂阿瑞说话的时候一会儿用法语，一会儿用英语，因为这两种话她说得同样流利。她说话的时候语调象是在唱歌，听起来非常悦耳。如果小鸟会讲英语的话，你会觉得它正是用这种调子说话的。

“‘听我说，你跟爱塔结婚怎么样？她是个好姑娘，今年才十七岁。她从来不象这里有些女孩那样乱来——同个把船长或是大副要好过，这种事倒是有，但是跟当地人却绝对没有乱来过。她是很自爱的，你知道①。上回奥阿胡号到这里来的时候，船上的事务长对我讲，他在所有这些岛上还从来没有遇见过比她更好的姑娘呢。她现在也到了寻个归宿的时候啦，再说，船长也好、大副也好，总不时地想换个口味。凡是给我干活的女孩子我都不叫她们干多少年。爱塔在塔拉窝河旁弄到一小块地产，就在你到这里不久以前，收获的椰子干按现在的市价算足够你舒舒服服过日子。那里还有一幢房子，你要想画画儿要多少时间有多少时间。你觉得怎么样？’”

①原文为法语。

蒂阿瑞停下来喘了一口气。

Tiare, when Itold her this story, praised my prudence, and for a few minutes we worked insilence, for we were shelling peas. Then her eyes, always alert for the affairsof her kitchen, fell on some action of the Chinese cook which aroused herviolent disapproval. She turned on him with a torrent of abuse. The Chink wasnot backward to defend himself, and a very lively quarrel ensued. They spoke inthe native language, of which I had learnt but half a dozen words, and itsounded as though the world would shortly come to an end; but presently peacewas restored and Tiare gave the cook a cigarette. They both smoked comfortably.

"Do youknow, it was I who found him his wife?" said Tiare suddenly, with a smilethat spread all over her immense face.

"Thecook?"

"No, Strickland."

"But hehad one already. "

"That iswhat he said, but I told him she was in England, and England is at the otherend of the world. "

"True," I replied.

"He wouldcome to Papeete every two or three months, when he wanted paints or tobacco or money,and then he would wander about like a lost dog. I was sorry for him. I had agirl here then called Ata to do the rooms; she was some sort of a relation ofmine, and her father and mother were dead, so I had her to live with me.Strickland used to come here now and then to have a square meal or to playchess with one of the boys. I noticed that she looked at him when he came, andI asked her if she liked him. She said she liked him well enough. You know whatthese girls are; they're always pleased to go with a white man. "

"Was she anative?" I asked.

当我给蒂阿瑞讲完了这个故事，她很称赞我看问题的敏锐。这以后，我们埋头干了几分钟活儿，谁也没有再开口，因为我们当时正在剥豆子。她的眼睛对厨房里发生的事一件也不放过，没过多一会儿，她看到中国厨师做了一件她非常不赞成的事，马上对他骂了一大串话，但是那个中国人也毫不示弱，于是你一言我一语，展开一场极为激烈的舌战。他们对骂时用的是当地土话，我只听得懂五、六个词，给我的印象是，好象世界末日都快要到了。但是没过多久，和平就又恢复了，而且蒂阿瑞居然还递给厨师傅一根纸烟。两个人都舒舒服服地喷起云雾来。

“你知道，他的老婆还是我给找的呢，”蒂阿瑞突如其来地说了一句，一张大脸上布满了笑容。

“厨师傅的老婆？”

“不，思特里克兰德的。”

“他已经有了呀。”

“他也这么说。可是我告诉他，她的老婆在英国，英国在地球的那一边呢。”

“不错，”我回答说。

“每隔两三个月，当他需要油彩啊、烟草啊，或者缺钱花的时候，他就到帕皮提来一趟。到了这里，他总是象个没主的野狗似地东游西荡，我看着怪可怜的。我这里雇着一个女孩子，帮我收拾房间。她名字叫爱塔。她是我的一个远房亲戚，父母都死了，所以我只好收留了她。思特里克兰德有时候到我这儿来吃一顿饱饭，或者同我这里的哪个干活儿的下盘棋。我发现每次他来的时候，爱塔都盯着他。我就问她她是不是喜欢这个人。她说她很喜欢他。你知道这些女孩子是怎么样的，都喜欢找个白人。”

“爱塔是本地人吗？”我问。

Character? Ishould have thought it needed a good deal of character to throw up a careerafter half an hour's meditation, because you saw in another way of living amore intense significance. And it required still more character never to regretthe sudden step. But I said nothing, and Alec Carmichael proceededreflectively:

"Of courseit would be hypocritical for me to pretend that I regret what Abraham did.After all, I've scored by it. " He puffed luxuriously at the long Coronahe was smoking. "But if I weren't personally concerned I should be sorryat the waste. It seems a rotten thing that a man should make such a hash oflife. "

I wondered ifAbraham really had made a hash of life. Is to do what you most want, to liveunder the conditions that please you, in peace with yourself, to make a hash oflife; and is it success to be an eminent surgeon with ten thousand a year and abeautiful wife? I suppose it depends on what meaning you attach to life, theclaim which you acknowledge to society, and the claim of the individual. Butagain I held my tongue, for who am I to argue with a knight?

个性？在我看来，一个人因为看到另外一种生活方式更有重大的意义，只经过半小时的考虑就甘愿抛弃一生的事业前途，这才需要很强的个性呢。贸然走出这一步，以后永不后悔，那需要的个性就更多了。但是我什么也没说。阿莱克·卡尔米凯尔继续沉思着说：

“当然了，如果我对阿伯拉罕的行径故作遗憾，我这人也就太虚伪了。不管怎么说，正因为他走了这么一步，才让我占了便宜。”他吸着一支长长的寇罗纳牌哈瓦那雪茄烟，舒适地喷着烟圈。“但是如果这件事同我个人没有牵连的话，我是会为他虚掷才华感到可惜的。一个人竟这样糟蹋自己实在太令人心痛了。”

我很怀疑，阿伯拉罕是否真的糟蹋了自己。做自己最想做的事，生活在自己喜爱的环境里，淡泊宁静、与世无争，这难道是糟蹋自己吗？与此相反，做一个著名的外科医生，年薪一万镑，娶一位美丽的妻子，就是成功吗？我想，这一切都取决于一个人如何看待生活的意义，取决于他认为对社会应尽什么义务，对自己有什么要求。但是我还是没有说什么；我有什么资格同一位爵士争辩呢？