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第16节

don quixote(堂·吉珂德)-第16节

小说: don quixote(堂·吉珂德) 字数: 每页4000字

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       Sunday; Monday; all I care is
         Thou shouldst see me in my best。

       No account I make of dances;
         Or of strains that pleased thee so;
       Keeping thee awake from midnight
         Till the cocks began to crow;

       Or of how I roundly swore it
         That there's none so fair as thou;
       True it is; but as I said it;
         By the girls I'm hated now。

       For Teresa of the hillside
         At my praise of thee was sore;
       Said; 〃You think you love an angel;
         It's a monkey you adore;

       〃Caught by all her glittering trinkets;
         And her borrowed braids of hair;
       And a host of made…up beauties
         That would Love himself ensnare。〃

       'T was a lie; and so I told her;
         And her cousin at the word
       Gave me his defiance for it;
         And what followed thou hast heard。

       Mine is no high…flown affection;
         Mine no passion par amours…
       As they call it… what I offer
         Is an honest love; and pure。

       Cunning cords the holy Church has;
         Cords of softest silk they be;
       Put thy neck beneath the yoke; dear;
         Mine will follow; thou wilt see。

       Else… and once for all I swear it
         By the saint of most renown…
       If I ever quit the mountains;
         'T will be in a friar's gown。

  Here the goatherd brought his song to an end; and though Don Quixote
entreated him to sing more; Sancho had no mind that way; being more
inclined for sleep than for listening to songs; so said he to his
master; 〃Your worship will do well to settle at once where you mean to
pass the night; for the labour these good men are at all day does
not allow them to spend the night in singing。〃
  〃I understand thee; Sancho;〃 replied Don Quixote; 〃I perceive
clearly that those visits to the wine…skin demand compensation in
sleep rather than in music。〃
  〃It's sweet to us all; blessed be God;〃 said Sancho。
  〃I do not deny it;〃 replied Don Quixote; 〃but settle thyself where
thou wilt; those of my calling are more becomingly employed in
watching than in sleeping; still it would be as well if thou wert to
dress this ear for me again; for it is giving me more pain than it
need。〃
  Sancho did as he bade him; but one of the goatherds; seeing the
wound; told him not to be uneasy; as he would apply a remedy with
which it would be soon healed; and gathering some leaves of
rosemary; of which there was a great quantity there; he chewed them
and mixed them with a little salt; and applying them to the ear he
secured them firmly with a bandage; assuring him that no other
treatment would be required; and so it proved。

  CHAPTER XII
  OF WHAT A GOATHERD RELATED TO THOSE WITH DON QUIXOTE

  JUST then another young man; one of those who fetched their
provisions from the village; came up and said; 〃Do you know what is
going on in the village; comrades?〃
  〃How could we know it?〃 replied one of them。
  〃Well; then; you must know;〃 continued the young man; 〃this
morning that famous student…shepherd called Chrysostom died; and it is
rumoured that he died of love for that devil of a village girl the
daughter of Guillermo the Rich; she that wanders about the wolds
here in the dress of a shepherdess。〃
  〃You mean Marcela?〃 said one。
  〃Her I mean;〃 answered the goatherd; 〃and the best of it is; he
has directed in his will that he is to be buried in the fields like
a Moor; and at the foot of the rock where the Cork…tree spring is;
because; as the story goes (and they say he himself said so); that was
the place where he first saw her。 And he has also left other
directions which the clergy of the village say should not and must not
be obeyed because they savour of paganism。 To all which his great
friend Ambrosio the student; he who; like him; also went dressed as
a shepherd; replies that everything must be done without any
omission according to the directions left by Chrysostom; and about
this the village is all in commotion; however; report says that; after
all; what Ambrosio and all the shepherds his friends desire will be
done; and to…morrow they are coming to bury him with great ceremony
where I said。 I am sure it will be something worth seeing; at least
I will not fail to go and see it even if I knew I should not return to
the village tomorrow。〃
  〃We will do the same;〃 answered the goatherds; 〃and cast lots to see
who must stay to mind the goats of all。〃
  〃Thou sayest well; Pedro;〃 said one; 〃though there will be no need
of taking that trouble; for I will stay behind for all; and don't
suppose it is virtue or want of curiosity in me; it is that the
splinter that ran into my foot the other day will not let me walk。〃
  〃For all that; we thank thee;〃 answered Pedro。
  Don Quixote asked Pedro to tell him who the dead man was and who the
shepherdess; to which Pedro replied that all he knew was that the dead
man was a wealthy gentleman belonging to a village in those mountains;
who had been a student at Salamanca for many years; at the end of
which he returned to his village with the reputation of being very
learned and deeply read。 〃Above all; they said; he was learned in
the science of the stars and of what went on yonder in the heavens and
the sun and the moon; for he told us of the cris of the sun and moon
to exact time。〃
  〃Eclipse it is called; friend; not cris; the darkening of those
two luminaries;〃 said Don Quixote; but Pedro; not troubling himself
with trifles; went on with his story; saying; 〃Also he foretold when
the year was going to be one of abundance or estility。〃
  〃Sterility; you mean;〃 said Don Quixote。
  〃Sterility or estility;〃 answered Pedro; 〃it is all the same in
the end。 And I can tell you that by this his father and friends who
believed him grew very rich because they did as he advised them;
bidding them 'sow barley this year; not wheat; this year you may sow
pulse and not barley; the next there will be a full oil crop; and
the three following not a drop will be got。'〃
  〃That science is called astrology;〃 said Don Quixote。
  〃I do not know what it is called;〃 replied Pedro; 〃but I know that
he knew all this and more besides。 But; to make an end; not many
months had passed after he returned from Salamanca; when one day he
appeared dressed as a shepherd with his crook and sheepskin; having
put off the long gown he wore as a scholar; and at the same time his
great friend; Ambrosio by name; who had been his companion in his
studies; took to the shepherd's dress with him。 I forgot to say that
Chrysostom; who is dead; was a great man for writing verses; so much
so that he made carols for Christmas Eve; and plays for Corpus
Christi; which the young men of our village acted; and all said they
were excellent。 When the villagers saw the two scholars so
unexpectedly appearing in shepherd's dress; they were lost in
wonder; and could not guess what had led them to make so extraordinary
a change。 About this time the father of our Chrysostom died; and he
was left heir to a large amount of property in chattels as well as
in land; no small number of cattle and sheep; and a large sum of
money; of all of which the young man was left dissolute owner; and
indeed he was deserving of it all; for he was a very good comrade; and
kind…hearted; and a friend of worthy folk; and had a countenance
like a benediction。 Presently it came to be known that he had
changed his dress with no other object than to wander about these
wastes after that shepherdess Marcela our lad mentioned a while ago;
with whom the deceased Chrysostom had fallen in love。 And I must
tell you now; for it is well you should know it; who this girl is;
perhaps; and even without any perhaps; you will not have heard
anything like it all the days of your life; though you should live
more years than sarna。〃
  〃Say Sarra;〃 said Don Quixote; unable to endure the goatherd's
confusion of words。
  〃The sarna lives long enough;〃 answered Pedro; 〃and if; senor; you
must go finding fault with words at every step; we shall not make an
end of it this twelvemonth。〃
  〃Pardon me; friend;〃 said Don Quixote; 〃but; as there is such a
difference between sarna and Sarra; I told you of it; however; you
have answered very rightly; for sarna lives longer than Sarra: so
continue your story; and I will not object any more to anything。〃
  〃I say then; my dear sir;〃 said the goatherd; 〃that in our village
there was a farmer even richer than the father of Chrysostom; who
was named Guillermo; and upon whom God bestowed; over and above
great wealth; a daughter at whose birth her mother died; the most
respected woman there was in this neighbourhood; I fancy I can see her
now with that countenance which had the sun on one side and the moon
on the other; and moreover active; and kind to the poor; for which I
trust that at the present moment her soul is in bliss with God in
the other world。 Her husband Guillermo died of grief at the death of
so good a wife; leaving his daughter Marcela; a child and rich; to the
care of an uncle of hers; a priest and prebendary in our village。
The girl grew up with such beauty that it reminded us of her mother's;
wh

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