-
The Minister
’
s Black
Veil
牧师的黑面纱（中英文对照）
The sexton stood in the porch of
Milford meeting-house, pulling busily at the bell-
rope. The
old
people
of
the
village
came
stooping
along
the
street.
Children,
with
bright
faces,
tripped
merrily beside their
parents, or mimicked a graver gait, in the
conscious dignity of their Sunday
clothes.
Spruce
bachelors
looked
sidelong
at
the
pretty
maidens,
and
fancied
that
the
Sabbath
sunshine made them prettier than on
week days. When the throng had mostly streamed
into the
porch, the sexton began to
toll the bell, keeping his eye on the Reverend Mr.
Hooper's door. The
first glimpse of the
clergyman's figure was the signal for the bell to
cease its summons.
米尔福礼拜堂的门廊上，
司事正忙着扯开钟绳。
村里的老人们弯腰驼背顺街走来，
孩
子
们喜笑颜开，活蹦乱跳地跟着父母，
要不就一本正经地迈步，
浑身礼拜天打扮的神气。
衣冠
楚楚的小
伙子们侧目偷看好看的姑娘，
觉得安息日的阳光使她们比平日更漂亮啦。
人流大都
涌进门廊，
司事开始打钟，一面盯着胡珀牧师
的门口。牧师一露头，他就该停打召唤的钟声
了。
“But what has good Parson Hooper got
upon his face?” cried the sexton in
astonishment.
All
within
hearing
immediately
turned
about,
and
beheld
the
semblance
of
Mr.
Hooper,
pacing
slowly
his
meditative
way
towards
the
meetinghouse.
With
one
accord
they
started,
expressing more
wonder than if some strange minister were coming
to dust the cushions of Mr.
Hooper's
pulpit.
“牧师脸上这是啥呀？”司事失惊大叫。
<
/p>
听到的人都立刻回过身来，
只见一位貌似胡珀先生的人，
正若有所思地缓步朝礼拜堂走
来。
人们全呆了，
即算来了位生人到胡珀牧师布道坛上动手给垫子掸灰尘，
他们也
不至于如
此大惊小怪。
“Are
you sure it is our parson?” inquired Goodman Gray
of the sexton.
“Of a
certainty it is good Mr. Hooper,” replied the
sexton. “He was to have exchan
ged
pulpits
with
Parson
Shute,
of
Westbury;
but
Parson
Shute
sent
to
excuse
himself
yesterday,
being
to
preach a funeral
sermon.”
“你敢肯定这是俺们那位牧师？”古德曼?格雷问司事。
“错不了，
是胡珀先生。
”
司事应道，
“今儿他本该跟韦斯特伯雷的舒特牧师对换的，
可
昨天舒特牧师捎信儿说不来了，得去给一场丧事做祈祷。
”
The cause of so much
amazement may appear sufficiently slight. Mr.
Hooper, a gentlemanly
person,
of
about
thirty,
though
still
a
bachelor,
was
dressed
with
due
clerical
neatness,
as
if
a
careful wife had starched his band, and
brushed the weekly dust from his Sunday's garb.
There
was but one thing remarkable in
his appearance. Swathed about his forehead, and
hanging down
over his face, so low as
to be shaken by his breath, Mr. Hooper had on a
black veil. On a nearer
view it seemed
to consist of two folds of crape, which entirely
concealed his features, except the
mouth and chin, but probably did not
intercept his sight, further than to give a
darkened aspect to
all
living
and
inanimate
things.
With
this
gloomy
shade
before
him,
good
Mr.
Hooper
walked
onward, at a slow and
quiet pace, stooping somewhat, and looking on the
ground, as is customary
with
abstracted
men,
yet
nodding
kindly
to
those
of
his
parishioners
who
still
waited
on
the
meeting-house steps. But
so wonder-struck were they that his greeting
hardly met with a return.
如此大惊小怪的理由好像并不
充分。胡珀牧师年届三十，一派绅士风度，虽仍未成家，
却不失牧师该有的整洁干净。<
/p>
仿佛有位周到的妻子已为他浆洗过领箍，
刷净了一周来落在礼
拜天这身法衣上的灰尘。
浑身上下只有一样东西刺眼，这就是箍住额
头，低垂盖脸，随呼吸
颤动的一块黑面纱。
近些看，
面纱似有两层，
除了嘴和下巴，
一张脸给遮得严严
实实。
不过，
也许并没挡住他的视线，
只给看到的一切有生命无生命的东西蒙上了一层黑影。
带着这片黑
影，善良的胡珀先生朝前走着，步子缓慢沉静，像心不在焉的人惯常那样，微微驼背，两眼
看地，
但对等候在礼拜堂台阶上的教友们仍和气地点头致意，
然而众人只顾吃惊打怪，
竟忘
了还礼。
“I
can't
really
feel
as
if
good
Mr.
Hooper's
face
was
behind
that
piece
of
crape,”
said
the
sexton.
“I
don't
like
it,”
muttered
an
old
woman,
as
she
hobbled
into
the
meeting
-
house.
“He
has
changed
himself into something awful, o
nly by
hiding his face.”
“Our
parson has gone mad!” cried Goodman Gray,
following him across the threshold.
“俺真不敢相信那面纱后头就是胡珀先生的脸。
”司事道。
“俺可不喜欢那玩意儿。
”
一位老妪蹒跚而入，
嘀嘀咕咕地说，
“把脸一蒙，他就变得
让
人害怕啦。
”
“俺们的牧师疯啦！
”古德曼?格雷边说边跟着他跨进门槛。
A
rumor
of
some
unaccountable
phenomenon
had
preceded
Mr.
Hooper
into
the
meeting-house,
and
set
all
the
congregation
astir.
Few
could
refrain
from
twisting
their
heads
towards
the
door;
many
stood
upright,
and
turned
directly
about;
while
several
little
boys
clambered upon the
seats, and came down again with a terrible racket.
There was a general bustle,
a
rustling
of
the
women's
gowns
and
shuffling
of
the
men's
feet,
greatly
at
variance
with
that
hushed repose which
should attend the entrance of the minister. But
Mr. Hooper appeared not to
notice
the
perturbation
of
his
people.
He
entered
with
an
almost
noiseless
step,
bent
his
head
mildly to the pews on each side, and
bowed as he passed his oldest parishioner, a
white-haired
great grandsire, who
occupied an arm-chair in
the centre of
the aisle.
It was strange to observe
how slowly this venerable man became
conscious of something singular in the appearance
of his
pastor. He seemed not fully to
partake of the prevailing wonder, till Mr. Hooper
had ascended the
stairs, and showed
himself in the pulpit, face to face with his
congregation, except for the black
veil. That mysterious emblem was never
once withdrawn. It shook with his measured breath,
as he
gave out the psalm; it threw its
obscurity between him and the holy page, as he
read the Scriptures;
and while he
prayed, the veil lay heavily on his uplifted
countenance. Did he seek to hide it from
the dread Being whom he was addressing?
胡珀牧师还没进门，
这件不可思议的怪事就在礼拜堂传了开来。
教友们纷纷骚动，
扭头
朝门口张望。<
/p>
不少人干脆站起来，
转过身子。
几个小家
伙爬上椅背，
又跌了下来，
乱成一片。
堂里女人的衣裙沙沙作响，
男人的脚步拖来拖去，
一扫恭候牧师
驾到该有的肃静。
可是胡珀
牧师好像对这混乱视而不见。他几乎
悄无声息地走了进来，朝两侧一排排的会众微微点头，
走过最年长的教友时还鞠了一躬。
老人满头华发，
坐在通道中间的扶手椅上。
年高德劭的老
人对牧师外表的异常反应真是迟钝，
好像压根
儿不曾感受四周的惊诧，
直到胡珀沿台阶上了
讲坛，
戴着那块黑面纱与众人面对面时，
方才有所觉察。
牧师先生这神秘的标志一刻也不曾
除下。领唱赞美诗，它随呼吸起伏；朗读《圣经》它就
在他与圣书之间抛下黑影。他祈祷，
它就沉沉地贴在他仰起的面孔上。莫非他想向可畏的
上帝隐藏自己的面孔？
Such
was
the
effect
of
this
simple
piece
of
crape,
that
more
than
one
woman
of
delicate
nerves was forced
to leave the meeting-house. Yet perhaps the pale-
faced congregation was almost
as
fearful a sight to the minister, as his black veil
to them.
小小一块黑纱，
怵目惊心，
害得不止一位神经脆弱的女人被迫提前离开教堂。
可是在牧
师眼中，面无人色的教友们没准儿就跟他的黑面纱一样令人胆寒呢。
Mr. Hooper had the reputation of a good
preacher, but not an energetic one: he strove to
win
his
people
heavenward
by
mild,
persuasive
influences,
rather
than
to
drive
them
thither
by
the
thunders of the Word.
The sermon which he now delivered was marked by
the same characteristics
of style and
manner as the general series of his pulpit
oratory. But there was something, either in
the sentiment of the discourse itself,
or in the imagination of the auditors, which made
it greatly
the
most
powerful
effort
that
they
had
ever
heard
from
their
pastor's
lips.
It
was
tinged,
rather
more
darkly
than
usual,
with
the
gentle
gloom
of
Mr.
Hooper's
temperament.
The
subject
had
reference to secret sin, and those sad
mysteries which we hide from our nearest and
dearest, and
would fain conceal from
our own consciousness, even forgetting that the
Omniscient can detect
them. A subtle
power was breathed into his words. Each member of
the congregation, the most
innocent
girl, and the man of hardened breast, felt as if
the preacher had crept upon them, behind
his awful veil, and discovered their
hoarded iniquity of deed or thought. Many spread
their clasped
hands on their bosoms.
There was nothing terrible in what Mr. Hooper
said, at least, no violence;
and yet,
with every tremor of his melancholy voice, the
hearers quaked. An unsought pathos came
hand in hand with awe. So sensible were
the audience of some unwonted attribute in their
minister,
that
they
longed
for
a
breath
of
wind
to
blow
aside
the
veil,
almost
believing
that
a
stranger's
visage would be
discovered, though the form, gesture, and voice
were those of Mr. Hooper.
胡珀布道有方，
远近闻名。他不以力量取胜，
对教民们总是尽量好言相劝，
< br>导引大家朝
向天国，而不靠雷霆般的圣谕驱赶人们奔向那里。此刻，他讲道的风格
、方式，一如既往。
可是要么由于讲道本身的情绪，
要么出于听
众的想象，
总之，
大家感到从未听过他这么有力
的一番告诫。
与平日相比，
今天的布道更是蒙上了一层
胡珀性情的温良与忧郁。
主题涉及隐
秘的罪孽，
及那些我们对最亲近的人，
对自己的良心都想隐藏的秘密，
甚至忘记全能的上帝
洞察一切。
有种难以捉摸的力量渗透了
他的字字句句。
全体教友，
不论纯洁如水的少女还是
心如铁石的男子汉，
无不感到躲在可怕面纱后面的牧师正悄悄逼近，
发现了他们思想与行为
中深藏的罪恶。许多人双手交叉紧握，按住胸膛
。胡珀牧师的话并不可怕，至少并不激烈。
然而，
那忧郁声调的
每一个颤音都令听者发抖，
莫名的悲怆与畏惧结伴而来。
听众对
牧师的
反常感觉强烈，真盼一阵清风能把那块面纱掀开，简直认为露出来的会是一张陌生
的面孔，
尽管那身体、姿势、声音，分明是胡珀牧师的。
At
the
close
of
the
services,
the
people
hurried
out
with
indecorous
confusion,
eager
to
communicate their pent-up amazement,
and conscious of lighter spirits the moment they
lost sight
of the black veil. Some
gathered in little circles, huddled closely
together, with their mouths all
whispering
in
the
centre;
some
went
homeward
alone,
wrapt
in
silent
meditation;
some
talked
loudly,
and
profaned
the
Sabbath
day
with
ostentatious
laughter.
A
few
shook
their
sagacious
heads, intimating that they could
penetrate the mystery; while one or two affirmed
that there was
no mystery at all, but
only that Mr. Hooper's eyes were so weakened by
the midnight lamp, as to
require a
shade. After a brief interval, forth came good Mr.
Hooper also, in the rear of his flock.
Turning
his
veiled
face
from
one
group
to
another,
he
paid
due
reverence
to
the
hoary
heads,
saluted the middle aged with kind
dignity as
their friend and spiritual
guide, greeted the
young
with mingled authority and love, and
laid his hands on the little children's heads to
bless them.
Such was always his custom
on the Sabbath day. Strange and bewildered looks
repaid him for his
courtesy. None, as
on former occasions, aspired to the honor of
walking by their pastor's side. Old
Squire Saunders, doubtless by an
accidental lapse of memory, neglected to invite
Mr. Hooper to
his table, where the good
clergyman had been wont to bless the food, almost
every Sunday since
his settlement. He
returned, therefore, to the parsonage, and, at the
moment of closing the door,
was
observed to look back upon the people, all of whom
had their eyes fixed upon the minister. A
sad smile gleamed faintly from beneath
the black veil, and flickered about his mouth,
glimmering
as he disappeared.
礼拜刚完，
众人便不守规矩，争先恐后往外挤，急于交流按捺不住的惊异，
且感到眼前
不见了那块黑面纱，
心情为之一松。
有的人挤作一堆交头接耳，有的人独自回家，
一路默默
沉思。
还有几位摇头晃脑，自作聪明，吹嘘他们能揭穿这个秘密。
可有的人却肯定此事根本
毫无秘密可言，不过因为牧师先生熬夜，给灯
光弄伤了眼睛，需要遮挡罢了。片刻之后，胡
珀牧师也跟在教民们后头走了出来。
他蒙着面纱的脸从这群人转向那群人，
向白发苍苍的长
者致意，
又作为中年人的朋友与精神导师，
和善庄重地
跟他们打招呼。
对年轻人则露出爱护
与威严，还把手放到孩子们
头上，为他们祝福。这样做是他安息日的老习惯，但今天回报他
好意的只有奇怪与迷惑的
目光。
没人照往常那样，
以与牧师比肩而行为荣。
桑德斯老爷记性
无疑出了毛病，
竟忘了邀请胡珀牧师
去他家用膳。
自打牧师就职此地，
几乎每个礼拜天都是
去他家饭桌上祝福的呀。今天，牧师只好回到自己寓所，正要关门，回头一望，众人的目光
全都盯在他身上。
黑面纱下面露出一丝忧伤的苦笑，
< br>隐约掠过牧师嘴角，
随他一起消失不见。
“How strange,” said a lady, “that a
simple black veil, such as any woman might wear on
her
bonnet, should become such a
terrible thing on Mr. Hooper's face!”
“Something must
surely be
amiss
with Mr.
Hooper's
intellects,”
observed her husband, the
physician of
the village. “But the strangest part of the affair
is the effect of this vagary, even on a
sober-minded man like myself. The black
veil, though it covers only our pastor's face,
throws its
influence over his whole
person, and makes him ghostlike from head to foot.
Do you not feel it
so?”
“怪呀，
”一位妇人道，
“一块普普通通的黑面
纱，跟咱女人家系在帽子上的没啥两样，
可一到胡珀先生脸上就变得这么吓人！
”
“胡珀牧师的脑筋一准出了毛病。
”
她丈夫，村里的医生道，
“不过，
这件怪事怪就怪在
它带来的威力，
连我这么个精明
强悍的人都受到震动。
那块黑纱虽说只遮住了牧师的脸，
可
给他整个人从头到脚都罩上了一层鬼气，你不觉得么？”
“Truly do I,” replied the lady; “and I
would not be alone with him for the world. I
wonder he
is not afraid to
be alone with himself!”
“Men
sometimes are so,” said her husband.
“可不是呐，
”女人道，
“俺说啥也不敢单
独跟他在一起。
俺都纳闷，他自己怕不怕自己
哩！
”
“人有时候是会自己怕自己的。
”她丈夫道。
The
afternoon
service
was
attended
with
similar
circumstances.
At
its
conclusion,
the
bell
tolled for the funeral
of a young lady. The relatives and friends were
assembled in the house, and
the
more
distant
acquaintances
stood
about
the
door,
speaking
of
the
good
qualities
of
the
deceased, when their
talk was interrupted by the appearance of Mr.
Hooper, still covered with his
black
veil. It was now an appropriate emblem. The
clergyman stepped into the room where the
corpse was laid, and bent over the
coffin, to take a last farewell of his deceased
parishioner. As he
stooped, the veil
hung straight down from his forehead, so that, if
her eyelids had not been closed
forever, the dead maiden might have
seen his face. Could Mr. Hooper be fearful of her
glance, that
he so hastily caught back
the black veil? A person who watched the interview
between the dead
and living, scrupled
not to affirm, that, at the instant when the
clergyman's features were disclosed,
the
corpse
had
slightly
shuddered,
rustling
the
shroud
and
muslin
cap,
though
the
countenance
retained the
composure of death. A superstitious old woman was
the only witness of this prodigy.
From
the coffin Mr. Hooper passed into the chamber of
the mourners, and thence to the head of
the staircase, to make the funeral
prayer. It was a tender and heart-dissolving
prayer, full of sorrow,
yet so imbued
with celestial hopes, that the music of a heavenly
harp, swept by the fingers of the
dead,
seemed faintly to be heard among the saddest
accents of the minister. The people trembled,
though they but darkly understood him
when he prayed that they, and himself, and all of
mortal
race, might be ready, as he
trusted this young maiden had been, for the
dreadful hour that should
snatch
the
veil
from
their
faces.
The
bearers
went
heavily
forth,
and
the
mourners
followed,
saddening all the
street, with the dead before them, and Mr. Hooper
in his black veil behind.
下午的礼拜式跟上午情形相似
。
收场时，
为一位年轻姑娘的葬礼敲起了丧钟。
亲友们聚
集在屋里，关系远些的熟人站在门口，议论着死者的长处。突然谈话中
断，胡珀牧师来了，
依然蒙着那块黑面纱，
此刻这标志倒恰当不
过。
牧师走进停放遗体的房间，
朝棺材俯下身去，
向他死去的教民最后告别。弯腰时，面纱从额头直垂下来，要是姑娘不曾永远合上了双眼，
就能看到他的面孔。
莫不是牧师害怕她的目光，
这
才赶紧把面纱往后一拉？有人亲眼目睹了
这场生者与死者的照面，
毫不顾忌地说，
牧师露出真相的刹那间，
姑娘的遗体微微一动
，打
了个寒战，
尸衣和薄纱帽都窸窣作响，
虽说死者的面容纹丝不动。
一个迷信的老太婆是这个
奇迹的
唯一见证。牧师离开遗体，走到哀悼者们的屋子，然后走到楼梯口，为死者祈祷。祷
文饱
含深情，感人肺腑，
哀哉痛哉，
但又倾注着天堂的希望，
仿佛姑娘的纤手在拨动着天堂
的琴弦乐声在牧师悲怆的腔调之间依稀可
闻。
人们不寒而栗，
虽然并不理解祷文深意。
< br>牧师
祷告说，但愿他们和他自己，以及芸芸众生，
都能像
这位姑娘一样，泰然面对被撕去面纱的
那一刻。
抬棺材的人沉重
地前行，
送葬的人们尾随其后。
死者打头，
胡珀牧师戴着面纱殿后，
哀伤了一条街。
“Why do you look back?”
said
one in the procession to his partner.
“I had a fancy,” replied she, “that the
minister and the maiden's spirit were walking hand
in
hand.”
“And so
had I, at the same moment,” said the
other.
“你干嘛朝后看？”送葬队伍中有人问同伴。
“俺好像觉得，方才牧师跟这姑娘的魂儿手拉手，一块儿走呐。
”她回答。
“俺也觉得，也是方才那会儿。
”另一位
应道。
That night, the
handsomest couple in Milford village were to be
joined in wedlock. Though
reckoned
a
melancholy
man,
Mr.
Hooper
had
a
placid
cheerfulness
for
such
occasions,
which
often excited a
sympathetic smile where livelier merriment would
have been thrown away. There
was no
quality of his disposition which
made
him
more beloved than this. The company
at
the
wedding
awaited
his
arrival
with
impatience,
trusting
that
the
strange
awe,
which
had
gathered
over
him
throughout
the
day,
would
now
be
dispelled.
But
such
was
not
the
result.
When
Mr.
Hooper came, the first
thing that their eyes rested on was the same
horrible black veil, which had
added
deeper gloom to the funeral, and could portend
nothing but evil to the wedding. Such was
its
immediate
effect
on
the
guests
that
a
cloud
seemed to
have
rolled
duskily
from
beneath
the
black
crape, and dimmed the light of the candles. The
bridal pair stood up before the minister. But
the
bride's
cold
fingers
quivered
in
the
tremulous
hand
of
the
bridegroom,
and
her
deathlike
paleness
caused
a
whisper
that
the
maiden
who
had
been
buried
a
few
hours
before
was
come
from
her
grave
to
be
married.
If
ever
another
wedding
were
so
dismal,
it
was
that
famous
one
where they tolled the wedding knell.
是夜，米尔福村里最漂亮的一对人儿要行婚礼。虽说胡珀牧师
生性忧郁，逢这种场合，
倒有一种平和的快乐。
这种场合比热烈
的作乐更能激起他和谐的微笑。
他性格中的这一点比
什么都更能
赢得教民们的爱戴。
参加婚礼的宾客急切地等待他的光临，
满以
为笼罩了牧师一
整天的那种奇异的恐惧，现在一定会烟消云散。可惜，结果并非如此。胡
珀牧师进得门来，
人们头一眼看到的还是那块可怕的黑面纱。
这
东西给葬礼平添了更深的忧伤，
但给婚礼带来
的只是凶兆。客人
们顿时感到，
仿佛有朵乌云从黑纱下面滚滚而来，遮住了花烛的光亮。一
对新人站在牧师面前，可新娘子冰凉的手指在新郎瑟瑟发抖的掌心战栗，脸色死一般苍白，
引起人们唧唧咕咕，
说是几个钟头前才下葬的那姑娘打墓穴里钻出来入洞房啦
。
要是还有比
这更阴沉的喜事，只能数响起丧钟的那场著名婚礼
了。
After
performing
the
ceremony,
Mr.
Hooper
raised
a
glass
of
wine
to
his
lips,
wishing
happiness to the
newmarried couple in a strain of mild pleasantry
that ought to have brightened the
features of the guests, like a cheerful
gleam from the hearth. At that instant, catching a
glimpse of
his figure in the looking-
glass, the black veil involved his own spirit in
the horror with which it
overwhelmed
all others. His frame shuddered, his lips grew
white, he spilt the untasted wine upon
the carpet, and rushed forth into the
darkness. For the Earth, too, had on her Black
Veil.
主持完仪式，
胡珀牧师举杯向新婚夫妇祝酒，
语气温和诙谐。
他的话本该犹如炉中欢跳
的
火光，照亮客人们的面庞，但就在那一瞬间，牧师从镜中瞥见了自己的形象，黑面纱也将
他的心灵卷进了震慑众人的恐惧之中。
他浑身颤抖，
双唇失色，
把未曾沾唇的喜酒溅洒在地
毯上，转身冲入茫茫黑夜，因为大地
也戴着它的黑面纱啊。
The next day, the
whole village of Milford talked of little else
than Parson Hooper's black
veil.
That,
and
the
mystery
concealed
behind
it,
supplied
a
topic
for
discussion
between
acquaintances
meeting in the street, and good women gossiping at
their open windows. It was the
first
item of news that the tavern-keeper told to his
guests. The children babbled of it on their way
to
school.
One
imitative
little
imp
covered
his
face
with
an
old
black
handkerchief,
thereby
so
affrighting his playmates
that the panic seized himself, and he well-nigh
lost his wits by his own
waggery.
第二天，
米尔福全村上下只议论一件事，
那就是胡
珀牧师的黑面纱。
那纱及纱后面隐藏
的秘密成为人们街头巷尾的
热门话题，
也给女人们敞开的窗前提供了饶舌的材料。
小店老板
把此事当做头条新闻向顾客报道，
孩子们上学的路上也叽叽喳喳
没个完。
一个爱学样的小淘
气，
用一块
旧的黑手巾把自己的脸也遮了起来，
结果恶作剧不但把同伴们吓得要命，
他自己
也吓得颠三倒四。
It
was
remarkable
that
all
of
the
busybodies
and
impertinent
people
in
the
parish,
not
one
ventured to put the plain question to
Mr. Hooper, wherefore he did this thing. Hitherto,
whenever
there
appeared
the
slightest call
for
such
interference,
he
had never
lacked
advisers,
nor
shown
himself averse to be
guided by their judgment. If he erred at all, it
was by so painful a degree of
self-
distrust, that even the mildest censure would lead
him to consider an indifferent action as a
crime.
Yet,
though
so
well
acquainted
with
this
amiable
weakness,
no
individual
among
his
parishioners chose to
make the black veil a subject of friendly
remonstrance. There was a feeling
of
dread,
neither
plainly
confessed
nor
carefully
concealed,
which
caused
each
to
shift
the
responsibility upon another, till at
length it was found expedient to send a deputation
of the church,
in order to deal with
Mr. Hooper about the mystery, before it should
grow into a scandal. Never
did an
embassy so ill discharge its duties. The minister
received then with friendly courtesy, but
became silent, after they were seated,
leaving to his visitors the whole burden of
introducing their
important business.
The topic, it might be supposed, was obvious
enough. There was the black veil
swathed round Mr. Hooper's forehead,
and concealing every feature above his placid
mouth, on
which, at times, they could
perceive the glimmering of a melancholy smile. But
that piece of crape,
to their
imagination, seemed to hang down before his heart,
the symbol of a fearful secret between
him and them. Were the veil but cast
aside, they might speak freely of it, but not till
then. Thus
they sat a considerable
time, speechless, confused, and shrinking uneasily
from Mr. Hooper's eye,
which
they
felt
to
be
fixed
upon
them
with
an
invisible
glance.
Finally,
the
deputies
returned
abashed
to
their
constituents,
pronouncing
the
matter
too
weighty
to
be
handled,
except
by
a
council of
the churches, if, indeed, it might not require a
general synod.
说也怪，教区里所有好管闲事、莽撞冒失之辈，就没一
个敢直截了当向胡珀牧师打听，
他为何这么做。
从前，他若有半
点儿事情需要人干预，出主意的总有一大群，而他也一向欣
然从命。
要说他有错的话，
那就是太缺乏自信，
连最轻描淡写的指责
也会使他把芝麻小事当
成罪过。
然而，
虽说他这种过分随和的毛病人尽皆知，
却没人愿意就黑面纱的事向他一尽忠
言。有种既不明说，
又不用心遮掩的恐惧感，
使得众
人互相推诿。
最后只好想出一条权宜之
计，
由教民们推选出一个代表团与胡珀牧师面谈，
免得此事引起公愤。
< br>再没有这么不会办事
的代表团了。
牧师友好客气地接待了
他们，
但待众人落座之后便一言不发，
把挑开这番来意
的全部重担都压在了代表们肩头。
话题实在明白不过，
< br>胡珀牧师额上就裹着那块黑面纱，
遮
住了他的脸，
只看得见两片安详的嘴唇。
人们发现这嘴角时而闪过一丝忧伤的微笑，
而那块
黑纱，照他们想象，简直挂到了他胸前，成为一件可怕秘
密的象征，横在他与他们中间。只
要拉开面纱，
他们就能自在地
对此事发表议论，
但不拉开它就无法启齿。
结果众人枯坐良久，
哑口无言，心烦意乱，畏畏缩缩地躲避牧师的目光，觉得这看不见的目光就盯在他们身上
。
最后，
代表们尴尬地收兵回营，
对推
选他们的人交代说，
事关重要，若不召开全体教民大会
的话，也
至少得举行教会会议。
But there was one
person in the village unappalled by the awe with
which the black veil had
impressed
all
beside
herself.
When
the
deputies
returned
without
an
explanation,
or
even
venturing to demand
one, she, with the calm energy of her character,
determined to chase away the
strange
cloud
that
appeared
to
be
settling
round
Mr.
Hooper,
every
moment
more
darkly
than
before. As his plighted wife, it should
be her privilege to know what the black veil
concealed. At
the
minister's
first
visit,
therefore,
she
entered
upon
the
subject
with
a
direct
simplicity,
which
made
the
task
easier
both
for
him
and
her.
After
he
had
seated
himself,
she
fixed
her
eyes
steadfastly upon the veil, but could
discern nothing of the dreadful gloom that had so
overawed
the multitude: it was but a
double fold of crape, hanging down from his
forehead to his mouth, and
slightly
stirring with his breath.
村里人为黑纱胆战心惊，
但有个人除外。
代表们空手而归，连要求牧师解释都不敢。这
个人却以自己沉静个性的力量，
决心驱散聚集在牧师头顶的奇异乌云。
这朵云变得越来越黑
啦。作为牧师的未婚妻，
< br>她有权知道黑面纱掩藏的是什么。牧师头回造访，
她就单刀直入挑
明话题，这倒使双方都好办多了。牧师落座之后，
她就目不转睛地盯住那块面纱
，
并没发现
威慑众人的骇然气象啊，
不
过是一块两层的绢纱，
从他额前垂到嘴际，
还随着他呼吸微微颤
动。
“No,” said she
aloud, and smiling, “there is nothing terrible in
this piece of crape, except that
it
hides a face which I am always glad to look upon.
Come, good sir, let the sun shine from behind
the cloud. First lay aside your black
veil: then tell me why you put it on.”
Mr. Hooper's smile glimmered faintly.
“There is an hour to come,” said he,
“when all of us shall cast aside our veils. Take
it not
amiss, beloved
fri
end, if I wear this piece of crape
till then.”
“Your words are
a mystery, too,” returned the young lady. “Take
away the veil from them, at
least.”
“不，
”她笑着大声说，
“这纱没啥好怕的，只不过挡住了我爱着的一张脸罢了。来
吧，