Chapter12 A change of clothes
第12章 互換衣服
Charles Darnay passed his last night alone in the prison.
查爾斯·代爾那獨自一人在監獄里過著他最后的一個夜晚。
He had no hope. He knew he must die, not for anything he had done wrong, but for the crimes of his father and his uncle. He sat down to write to his wife:
他不抱什么希望了。他知道他必須得死,不是因為他做錯了什么事,而是因為他父親和叔叔所犯下的罪行。他坐下來給他的妻子寫信:
I knew nothing about the time your father spent in prison until he told me. Even then I did not know that it was my family that had been so cruel to him. I told your father that my real name was Evrémonde, and he made me promise not to tell you. I am sure that he had forgotten the paper he had written, but what has happened now is not his fault. Take care of him and our child, and one day we shall all meet again in the happier world that comes after death.
在你父親告訴我以前,我對他在監獄中度過的歲月一無所知。即便那時我也不知道是我的家庭曾那樣殘忍地對待過他。我當時告訴你父親我的真實姓氏是埃弗蒙,但他讓我發誓不要告訴你。我相信他那時已經忘了他曾在監獄里寫的那份記錄。但是現在發生的事不是他的過錯。你要好好照顧他和我們的孩子。會有一天我們將重逢在一個更幸福的世界里的,人們死后就會到來的那個世界。
Darnay did not sleep peacefully that night and in the morning he walked up and down his prison, waiting. He counted the hours—nine, gone for ever, ten, eleven, twelve gone for ever. At one o'clock he heard someone outside the door. The door opened and closed and there stood Sydney Carton, holding a warning finger to his lips.
代爾那那天晚上沒有安睡過,凌晨他在囚室里走來走去地等待著。他數著時間——9點,永遠過去了,10點、11點、12點,都永遠消逝了。一點鐘時他聽見有人在門外。門開了又關上。西得尼·卡登走了進來。他伸出一只手指按在嘴上告訴他別出聲。
背景簡介:
代爾那靠自己的努力,在英國成為一個精通法國文學的教授。他從法庭受審那天起,就愛上了露茜。一個夏天的下午,他找了個機會向梅尼特醫生傾吐了自己的衷曲。他的真誠的愛情感動了老人。他同意代爾那追求露茜,但不允許他說出自己的真實的姓氏。代爾那不明白其中奧秘,感到很驚異。