Captain Brunot was a Breton, and had been in the French Navy. He left it on his marriage, and settled down on a small property he had near Quimper to live for the rest of his days in peace; but the failure of an attorney left him suddenly penniless, and neither he nor his wife was willing to live in penury where they had enjoyed consideration. During his sea faring days he had cruised the South Seas, and he determined now to seek his fortune there. He spent some months in Papeete to make his plans and gain experience; then, on money borrowed from a friend in France, he bought an island in the Paumotus. It was a ring of land round a deep lagoon, uninhabited, and covered only with scrub and wild guava. With the intrepid woman who was his wife, and a few natives, he landed there, and set about building a house, and clearing the scrub so that he could plant cocoa-nuts. That was twenty years before, and now what had been a barren island was a garden.
布呂諾船長(zhǎng)是法國(guó)布列塔尼地方的人，年輕時(shí)在法國(guó)海軍里服過(guò)役。結(jié)婚以后，他退了役，在坎佩爾附近一小份產(chǎn)業(yè)上定居下來(lái)，準(zhǔn)備在恬靜的鄉(xiāng)居生活中過(guò)自己的后半生。但是由于替他料理財(cái)務(wù)的一位代理人出了差錯(cuò)，一夜之間，他發(fā)現(xiàn)自己已經(jīng)一文不名了。他和他的妻子在當(dāng)?shù)厝藗冄勰恐斜緛?lái)享有一定的地位，他倆絕對(duì)不愿意仍然捱在原來(lái)的地方過(guò)苦日子。早年他在遠(yuǎn)涉重洋時(shí)，曾經(jīng)到過(guò)南太平洋群島；這時(shí)他就打定主意再到南海去闖一條路子。他先在帕皮提住了幾個(gè)月，一方面規(guī)劃一下自己的未來(lái)，一方面積累一些經(jīng)驗(yàn)。幾個(gè)月以后，他從法國(guó)一位朋友手里借了一筆錢(qián)，在包莫圖斯群島里買(mǎi)下一個(gè)很小的島嶼。這是一個(gè)環(huán)形小島，中間圍著一個(gè)咸水湖；島上長(zhǎng)滿了灌木和野生的香石榴，從來(lái)沒(méi)有人居住過(guò)。他的老婆是個(gè)很勇敢的女人，他就帶著自己的老婆和幾個(gè)土人登上這個(gè)小島。他們首先著手蓋房子，清理灌木叢，準(zhǔn)備種植椰子。這是在我遇到他二十年以前的事，現(xiàn)在這個(gè)荒島已經(jīng)成了一座整飭的種植園了。
"It was hard and anxious work at first, and we worked strenuously, both of us. Every day I was up at dawn, clearing, planting, working on my house, and at night when I threw myself on my bed it was to sleep like a log till morning. My wife worked as hard as I did. Then children were born to us, first a son and then a daughter. My wife and I have taught them all they know. We had a piano sent out from France, and she has taught them to play and to speak English, and I have taught them Latin and mathematics, and we read history together. They can sail a boat. They can swim as well as the natives. There is nothing about the land of which they are ignorant. Our trees have prospered, and there is shell on my reef. I have come to Tahiti now to buy a schooner. I can get enough shell to make it worth while to fish for it, and, who knows? I may find pearls. I have made something where there was nothing. I too have made beauty. Ah, you do not know what it is to look at those tall, healthy trees and think that every one I planted myself."
“開(kāi)始一段日子工作非常艱苦。我們兩個(gè)人拚死拚活地干活兒。每天天一亮我就起來(lái)，除草、種樹(shù)、蓋房子，晚上一倒在床上，我總是象條死狗似地一覺(jué)睡到天亮。我的妻子同我一樣毫不吝惜自己的力氣。后來(lái)我們有了孩子，先是一個(gè)男孩兒，后來(lái)又生了個(gè)女兒。我和我的妻子教他們讀書(shū)。他們知道的一點(diǎn)兒知識(shí)都是我倆教的。我們托人從國(guó)內(nèi)運(yùn)來(lái)一架鋼琴。我妻子教他們彈琴、說(shuō)英語(yǔ)，我教他們拉丁文和數(shù)學(xué)；我們一起讀歷史。兩個(gè)孩子還學(xué)會(huì)了駕船，游泳的本領(lǐng)也一點(diǎn)兒不比土人差。島上的事兒他們樣樣都很精通。我們的椰子林長(zhǎng)得很好，此外，我們那里的珊瑚礁上還盛產(chǎn)珠蚌。我這次到塔希提來(lái)是為了買(mǎi)一艘雙桅帆船。我想用這艘船打撈蚌殼，準(zhǔn)能把買(mǎi)船的錢(qián)賺回來(lái)。誰(shuí)能說(shuō)準(zhǔn)，我也許真會(huì)撈獲一些珍珠呢。我干的每一件事都是白手起家的。我也創(chuàng)造了美。在我瞧著那些高大、挺拔的椰子樹(shù)，心里想到每一棵都是自己親手培植出米的，你真不知道我那時(shí)是什么心情啊?！?/p>
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