狄更斯雙語小說:《董貝父子》第56章Part5
Florence lifts her eyes, so bright with tears, to his kind face; and clasps her disengaged hand on that other modest little hand which clasps his arm.
'It is very early, Walter, and the streets are almost empty yet. Let us walk.'
'But you will be so tired, my love.'
'Oh no! I was very tired the first time that we ever walked together, but I shall not be so to-day.' And thus - not much changed - she, as innocent and earnest-hearted - he, as frank, as hopeful, and more proud of her - Florence and Walter, on their bridal morning, walk through the streets together.
Not even in that childish walk of long ago, were they so far removed from all the world about them as to-day. The childish feet of long ago, did not tread such enchanted ground as theirs do now. The confidence and love of children may be given many times, and will spring up in many places; but the woman's heart of Florence, with its undivided treasure, can be yielded only once, and under slight or change, can only droop and die.
They take the streets that are the quietest, and do not go near that in which her old home stands. It is a fair, warm summer morning, and the sun shines on them, as they walk towards the darkening mist that overspreads the City. Riches are uncovering in shops; jewels, gold, and silver flash in the goldsmith's sunny windows; and great houses cast a stately shade upon them as they pass. But through the light, and through the shade, they go on lovingly together, lost to everything around; thinking of no other riches, and no prouder home, than they have now in one another.
Gradually they come into the darker, narrower streets, where the sun, now yellow, and now red, is seen through the mist, only at street corners, and in small open spaces where there is a tree, or one of the innumerable churches, or a paved way and a flight of steps, or a curious little patch of garden, or a burying-ground, where the few tombs and tombstones are almost black. Lovingly and trustfully, through all the narrow yards and alleys and the shady streets, Florence goes, clinging to his arm, to be his wife.
Her heart beats quicker now, for Walter tells her that their church is very near. They pass a few great stacks of warehouses, with waggons at the doors, and busy carmen stopping up the way - but Florence does not see or hear them - and then the air is quiet, and the day is darkened, and she is trembling in a church which has a strange smell like a cellar.
The shabby little old man, ringer of the disappointed bell, is standing in the porch, and has put his hat in the font - for he is quite at home there, being sexton. He ushers them into an old brown, panelled, dusty vestry, like a corner-cupboard with the shelves taken out; where the wormy registers diffuse a smell like faded snuff, which has set the tearful Nipper sneezing.
Youthful, and how beautiful, the young bride looks, in this old dusty place, with no kindred object near her but her husband. There is a dusty old clerk, who keeps a sort of evaporated news shop underneath an archway opposite, behind a perfect fortification of posts. There is a dusty old pew-opener who only keeps herself, and finds that quite enough to do. There is a dusty old beadle (these are Mr Toots's beadle and pew-opener of last Sunday), who has something to do with a Worshipful Company who have got a Hall in the next yard, with a stained-glass window in it that no mortal ever saw. There are dusty wooden ledges and cornices poked in and out over the altar, and over the screen and round the gallery, and over the inscription about what the Master and Wardens of the Worshipful Company did in one thousand six hundred and ninety-four. There are dusty old sounding-boards over the pulpit and reading-desk, looking like lids to be let down on the officiating ministers in case of their giving offence. There is ev
ery possible provision for the accommodation of dust, except in the churchyard, where the facilities in that respect are very limited. The Captain, Uncle Sol, and Mr Toots are come; the clergyman is putting on his surplice in the vestry, while the clerk walks round him, blowing the dust off it; and the bride and bridegroom stand before the altar. There is no bridesmaid, unless Susan Nipper is one; and no better father than Captain Cuttle. A man with a wooden leg, chewing a faint apple and carrying a blue bag in has hand, looks in to see what is going on; but finding it nothing entertaining, stumps off again, and pegs his way among the echoes out of doors.
No gracious ray of light is seen to fall on Florence, kneeling at the altar with her timid head bowed down. The morning luminary is built out, and don't shine there. There is a meagre tree outside, where the sparrows are chirping a little; and there is a blackbird in an eyelet-hole of sun in a dyer's garret, over against the window, who whistles loudly whilst the service is performing; and there is the man with the wooden leg stumping away. The amens of the dusty clerk appear, like Macbeth's, to stick in his throat a little'; but Captain Cuttle helps him out, and does it with so much goodwill that he interpolates three entirely new responses of that word, never introduced into the service before.
They are married, and have signed their names in one of the old sneezy registers, and the clergyman's surplice is restored to the dust, and the clergymam is gone home. In a dark corner of the dark church, Florence has turned to Susan Nipper, and is weeping in her arms. Mr Toots's eyes are red. The Captain lubricates his nose. Uncle Sol has pulled down his spectacles from his forehead, and walked out to the door.
'God bless you, Susan; dearest Susan! If you ever can bear witness to the love I have for Walter, and the reason that I have to love him, do it for his sake. Good-bye! Good-bye!'
They have thought it better not to go back to the Midshipman, but to part so; a coach is waiting for them, near at hand.
“我們回來的時候還可以再來看看他的墳墓，弗洛倫斯。”
弗洛倫斯擡起含着淚水、閃閃發亮的眼睛，看着他的親切的臉。她把空着一隻手緊握着另一隻緊挽着他胳膊的手。
“現在很早，沃爾特，街上幾乎還沒有人。我們走着去吧。”
“可是您會很累的，我親愛的。”
“不不！我們第一次一起走的時候我是很累的，但是今天我不會累。”就這樣，弗洛倫斯和沃爾特在他們結婚的這天早上，一起在街道上走着；跟過去沒有很大的變化--她，仍舊那樣的天真無邪，真心誠意；他，仍舊那樣心胸坦率、朝氣蓬勃，可是卻更因爲她而感到自豪了。
甚至在好多年以前的孩子的步行中，他們也不曾像今天這樣遠離周圍整個世界。好多年以前孩子的腳步也不曾像他們現在的腳步這樣踩着如此迷人的土地。孩子的信任與愛可以給出許多次，並會在許多地方生長起來，可是弗洛倫斯的女性的心和它所珍藏着的不可分割的愛卻只能給出一次，如果遭到冷落與不忠的話，那麼它就只能萎靡不振，然後死去。
他們選擇了最安靜的街道，並且不是走近她老家所在的街道。這是個睛朗的、溫暖的夏天的早晨；當他們朝着籠罩着倫敦城的陰沉沉的霧走去的時候，太陽照耀着他們。寶貴的貨物在商店中陳列着；寶石、金、銀在首飾商的陽光充足的窗子中閃耀着；當他們走過的時候，高大的房屋在他們身上投下了莊嚴的陰影。可是他們在陽光中、在陰影中相親相愛地一起向前走去，看不見周圍的一切；除了他們在彼此身上找到的財富之外，他們沒有想到任何其他財富；除了他們在彼此身上找到的家之外，他們沒有想到其他更值得自豪的家。
他們漸漸地走進了比較陰暗、比較狹窄的街道；在這些街道里，只有在那些街道角落裏和那些小片敞開的地方纔能通過薄霧看到時而黃色、時而紅色的太陽；在那些小片敞開的地方，或者有株樹，或者有一座教堂，或者有一條鋪砌的道路和一座臺階，或者有一小片意趣奇妙的花園，或者有一片墓地，墓地上寥寥無幾的墳墓和墓碑幾乎已發黑了。弗洛倫斯相親相愛地、信任地、緊緊挽着他的胳膊，穿過所有狹窄的圍場與衚衕以及陰暗的街道，向前走去，去成爲他的妻子。
她的心現在跳動得更快了，困爲沃爾特告訴她，他們的教堂離這裏很近了。他們走過了幾個很大的倉庫，倉庫門口停着一些四輪運貨馬車，忙碌的搬運工人堵塞了道路，可是弗洛倫斯沒有看到他們，也沒有聽到他們說話；接着氣氛安靜下來了，白天的光線變得陰暗了，現在弗洛倫斯是在一座教堂裏了，那裏散發出像地窖裏一樣的氣味。
那位衣衫襤褸、身材矮小的老頭子，失望的鐘聲的敲打者，這時正站在門廊裏，他的帽子就放在洗禮盤中--因爲他是教堂司事，在這裏就像在家中一樣毫無拘束。他把他們領進一個老舊的、褐色的、鑲嵌了嵌板的、積滿灰塵的法衣室；它像是一個擺在角落裏的、已經取出格板的碗櫃；室內被蟲蛀了的登記簿散發出一股像鼻菸的氣味，它使眼淚汪汪的尼珀直打噴嚏。
年輕的新娘在這老舊的、積滿灰塵的地方看去是多麼富有朝氣、多麼美麗，在她身旁除了她的丈夫之外，沒有別的親屬。這裏有一位滿身灰塵的年老的教會文書，他在教堂對面由柱子構成的加固工事的拱道的下面開設了一個出賣過時消息之類的店鋪。這裏有一位滿身灰塵的年老的教堂領座人，她只供養她自己，並覺得這就夠她操心費神的。這裏有一位滿身灰塵的年老的教區事務員（這位教區事務員和上面說到的那位教堂領座人就是圖茨先生上星期天看到的），他和一個虔敬社有些關係；這個虔敬社在鄰近的院子裏有一個祈禱廳，祈禱廳裏有一個凡人不容易見到過的彩色玻璃窗。這裏有積滿灰塵的木頭壁架和上楣，它們長短不齊地擺放在聖壇上面、圍屏上面、邊座周圍以及虔敬社社長與監察人1694年大事記的碑文上面。這裏有積滿灰塵的回聲板，裝在佈道壇和讀經臺上面，看去就像蓋子一樣，如果教士在執行祈禱儀式時侮辱了教堂會衆的話，那麼就可以把它拉下來，蓋在這些教士的頭上。這裏到處都有積聚灰塵的各種可能的裝置，只有在教堂的墓地是例外，那裏這方面的設施是很有限的。
船長、所爾舅舅和圖茨先生來了。教士正在法衣室裏穿上寬大的白色法衣，教堂文書則在他周圍走來走去，吹去法衣上的灰塵；新郎和新娘站在聖壇前面。除非把蘇珊?尼珀當做女嬪相，否則就沒有女嬪相了；至於代理主婚人，那麼沒有誰能比卡特爾船長更合適的了。一位裝了一條木腿的人，嘴裏嚼着一隻爛蘋果，手裏提着一隻藍色的袋子，到教堂裏來看看正在進行什麼事情，但是發現沒有什麼有趣的事，就又一拐一拐地走開了，他那假腿在門外一陣陣的回聲中向前走着。
弗洛倫斯羞怯地低垂着頭，跪在聖壇前面，沒有一縷仁慈的光線照在她的身上。上午的太陽被房屋遮蔽了，沒有照射到那裏。門外有一株枯槁的樹，樹上有幾隻麻雀在啁啾幾聲；在窗子對面，在一位染色工人的頂樓裏，在太陽能偷偷照進去的一個小孔中有一隻畫眉，當結婚儀式在進行的時候，它大聲地吱吱叫着。還有那位裝着木腿的人正邁着沉重的步子向別處走去。滿身灰塵的教堂文書說”阿門”時，就像麥克佩斯一樣，稍稍梗塞在喉嚨中；但是卡特爾船長幫助他說出來，他懷着滿腔熱情說它，在儀式中過去從來不說”阿門”的地方，他也插進去說了三次。
他們結婚了，在使人打噴嚏的舊登記簿當中的一本上籤了名；教士的寬大的白色法衣又收藏到積滿灰塵的地方；教士則回家了。在黑暗的教堂的一個黑暗的角落裏，弗洛倫斯轉過身，走到蘇珊?尼珀身邊，在她的懷抱裏哭泣着。圖茨先生的眼睛紅了。船長把鼻子擦得亮亮的。所爾舅舅把眼鏡從前額上拉下來，走到門口。
“上帝保佑你，蘇珊；我最親愛的蘇珊！如果有一天你能替我對沃爾特的愛情和我必須愛他的理由作見證人的話，那麼請爲了他的緣故這樣做吧。再見！再見！”
他們決定不回到海軍軍官候補生那裏，而在這裏離別。馬車在附近等着他們。
