椭圆形画像

椭圆形画像

The Oval Portrait

我的侍从见我伤势极其严重，宁可贸然强行闯入那座城堡，也不愿任由我在露天荒野中度过一夜。城堡集阴森与雄伟于一身，长久以来耸立在亚平宁山脉之中，无论在现实里还是在拉德克利夫夫人的幻想中，都同样令人望而生畏。

The château into which my valet had ventured to make forcible entrance, rather than permit me, in my desperately wounded condition, to pass a night in the open air, was one of those piles of commingled gloom and grandeur which have so long frowned among the Appennines, not less in fact than in the fancy of Mrs. Radcliffe.

从种种迹象来看，它只是暂时被弃置，且时间不久。我们在其中一间面积最小、陈设最不显奢华的套房里安顿下来。它位于城堡一座偏僻的塔楼之中。

To all appearance it had been temporarily and very lately abandoned. We established ourselves in one of the smallest and least sumptuously furnished apartments. It lay in a remote turret of the building.

房内的陈设虽显华贵，却已破旧而古老。

Its decorations were rich, yet tattered and antique.

墙上悬挂着织锦，缀以形制各异的多件纹章战利品，此外还有异乎寻常之多的极富生气的现代画作，均镶嵌在华丽的金色蔓藤花纹画框中。

Its walls were hung with tapestry and bedecked with manifold and multiform armorial trophies, together with an unusually great number of very spirited modern paintings in frames of rich golden arabesque.

这些画作不仅挂在墙面主体上，还悬于因城堡那奇特建筑格局而不可避免形成的许多角落里——或许是我初起的谵妄，使我对这些画作产生了浓厚的兴趣；因此我吩咐佩德罗关上沉重的窗板——毕竟夜幕已经降临——点燃床头高大烛台上的烛火，并将罩着睡床的黑色天鹅绒流苏帐幔彻底敞开。

In these paintings, which depended from the walls not only in their main surfaces, but in very many nooks which the bizarre architecture of the château rendered necessary—in these paintings my incipient delirium, perhaps, had caused me to take deep interest; so that I bade Pedro to close the heavy shutters of the room—since it was already night—to light the tongues of a tall candelabrum which stood by the head of my bed, and to throw open far and wide the fringed curtains of black velvet which enveloped the bed itself.

我希望将这一切安排妥当，以便即便无法入睡，也至少能在凝视这些画作与细读枕边发现的一本小册子之间交替度过；那本册子旨在对这些画作进行评述与描摹。

I wished all this done that I might resign myself, if not to sleep, at least alternately to the contemplation of these pictures, and the perusal of a small volume which had been found upon the pillow, and which purported to criticise and describe them.

我久久地、久久地阅读——虔诚而专注地凝望。时光飞逝，转瞬即逝，不知不觉已至深沉的子夜。

Long, long I read—and devoutly, devotedly I gazed. Rapidly and gloriously the hours flew by and the deep midnight came.

烛台摆放的位置令我感到不适，但我宁可费力地伸长手臂去调整，也不愿惊扰熟睡的侍从，好让烛光更充分地照在书页上。

The position of the candelabrum displeased me, and outreaching my hand with difficulty, rather than disturb my slumbering valet, I placed it so as to throw its rays more fully upon the book.

然而，这一举动却产生了一个全然意料之外的效果。多支蜡烛（因为烛台上为数不少）的光芒此刻恰好落入房间的一个壁龛内，而此处此前一直被一根床柱遮蔽在浓重的阴影中。

But the action produced an effect altogether unanticipated. The rays of the numerous candles (for there were many) now fell within a niche of the room which had hitherto been thrown into deep shade by one of the bed-posts.

借着明亮的光线，我看见了一幅先前完全未曾注意到的画作。那是一位含苞待放、刚步入青春韶华的年轻少女的肖像。我匆匆瞥了一眼这幅画，随即闭上了双眼。

I thus saw in vivid light a picture all unnoticed before. It was the portrait of a young girl just ripening into womanhood. I glanced at the painting hurriedly, and then closed my eyes.

起初，就连我自己也未察觉为何要这么做。但当眼帘依然紧闭之时，我脑海中飞速掠过自己闭上双眼的原由。

Why I did this was not at first apparent even to my own perception. But while my lids remained thus shut, I ran over in my mind my reason for so shutting them.

这只是一种冲动之举，旨在争取思索的时间——确保自己的视觉没有欺骗自己——好平复并克制我的遐想，以便投以更为清醒、更为确切的注视。片刻之后，我又凝神望向那幅画作。

It was an impulsive movement to gain time for thought—to make sure that my vision had not deceived me—to calm and subdue my fancy for a more sober and more certain gaze. In a very few moments I again looked fixedly at the painting.

我确信自己此刻所见分毫不差，对此我既无可怀疑，也不愿怀疑；因为烛光初次闪耀在那画布上时，似乎便驱散了逐渐侵袭我神志的梦幻般的昏沉，猛然将我惊醒至清醒现实之中。

That I now saw aright I could not and would not doubt; for the first flashing of the candles upon that canvas had seemed to dissipate the dreamy stupor which was stealing over my senses, and to startle me at once into waking life.