The Cactus 仙人掌

文/欧·亨利 译/闻春国 By O. Henry

The Cactus 仙人掌

文/欧·亨利 译/闻春国1By O. Henry

The most notable thing about Time is that it is so purely relative. A large amount of reminiscence is, by common consent, conceded to the drowning man; and it is not past belief that one may review an entire courtship while removing one’s gloves.

[2] That is what Trysdale was doing,standing by a table in his bachelor apartments. On the table stood a singularlooking green plant in a red earthen jar.The plant was one of the species of cacti,and was provided with long, tentacular leaves that perpetually swayed with the slightest breeze with a peculiar beckoning motion.

[3] Trysdale’s friend, the brother of the bride, stood at a sideboard complaining at being allowed to drink alone. Both men were in evening dress. White favors like stars upon their coats shone through the gloom of the apartment.

时间最显著的特点就是其纯粹的相对性。一般而言，消沉的人最容易沉溺于对往事的回忆，而一个人能在脱手套这会儿工夫重温一下求婚的整个过程也不是什么难以置信的事情。

[2]特里斯戴尔伫立在他单身公寓的桌子旁，做的正是此事。桌子上放着一个红色的陶罐，里面栽着一株形状奇特的绿色植物。它属于仙人掌的一种，长长的叶子宛如触手一般，微风拂来，不停地摇曳，似乎在向人招手致意。

[3]特里斯戴尔的朋友，也是新娘的哥哥，站在餐具柜的旁边，抱怨没人陪着，只好一个人在那儿自斟自饮。两个人穿着晚礼服。礼服上佩戴的白色花结宛如天上的星星，在昏暗的房间里闪烁着光芒。

[4] As he slowly unbuttoned his gloves, there passed through Trysdale’s mind a swift, scarifying retrospect of the last few hours. It seemed that in his nostrils was still the scent of the flowers that had been banked in odorous masses about the church, and in his ears the low pitched hum of a thousand well-bred voices, the rustle of crisp garments, and,most insistently recurring, the drawling words of the minister irrevocably binding her to another.

[5] From this last hopeless point of view he still strove, as if it had become a habit of his mind, to reach some conjecture as to why and how he had lost her. Shaken rudely by the uncompromising fact, he had suddenly found himself confronted by a thing he had never before faced—his own innermost, unmitigated, arid unbedecked self. He saw all the garbs of pretence and egoism that he had worn now turn to rags of folly. He shuddered at the thought that to others, before now, the garments of his soul must have appeared sorry and threadbare. Vanity and conceit?These were the joints in his armor. And how free from either she had always been—But why—

[4]特里斯戴尔慢慢地脱着手套，几个小时前发生的那令人揪心的一幕仍在他的脑海里闪现。教堂四周，那一簇簇鲜花的芳香，丝丝缕缕，依稀可闻；宾客们彬彬有礼的低声交谈言犹在耳。他仿佛听到了礼服窸窸窣窣的响动，而牧师那拖长语调的话语一直萦绕在他的耳边，挥之不去。它宣告了一个无可挽回的事实，她与另一个男人结合了。

[5]这最后的一击让他陷入绝望，但他仍想弄清楚自己为什么会失去她，又是怎么失去的。这似乎已经成了他的一种习惯。眼前这个不可改变的事实强烈地震撼了他，他突然发现自己正面对着以前从未正视过的东西——一个潜藏在他内心深处，纯粹的、真实的自我。……