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"So when my father asked if I would drive with him to Driefontein I was delighted. But when we reached the homestead and were sitting on the stoep drinking our coffee, we heard that Richard had left quite suddenly and had gone back to England. His father had died, and now he was the heir and must go back to look after his estates.
"所以，當父親問我是否愿意和他一塊開車去德里方丹時，我就高興地答應了。但待我們趕到范·倫斯堡家，坐在他們家屋前的門廊上喝咖啡時，卻聽說理查德已經(jīng)不辭而別回英國去了。他的父親死了，他是繼承人，不得不回去料理遺產(chǎn)。
"I do not remember very much more about that day, except that the sun seemed to have stopped shining and the country no longer looked beautiful and full of promise, but bleak and desolate as it sometimes does in winter or in times of drought. Late that afternoon, Jantje, the little Hottentot herd boy, came up to me and handed me a letter , which he said the English baas had left for me. It was the only love letter I ever received, but it turned all my bitterness and grief into a peacefulness which was the nearest I could get, then, to happiness. I knew Richard still loved me, and somehow, as long as I had his letter, I felt that we could never be really parted, even if he were in England and I had to remain on the farm. I have it yet, and though I am an old, tired woman, it still gives me hope and courage."
"那天的事我記不大清楚了，只記得當時陽光慘淡，田野也失去了美麗的豐采和欣欣向榮的景象，蕭瑟凄涼得跟冬天或大旱時一樣。那天傍晚，在我和父親動身回家之前，霍但托特族的小牧童詹杰交給我一封信，他說是那位英國老爺留給我的。這可是我有生以來收到的唯一的情書！它將我的憂傷一掃而光，使我的心情變得平靜--當時對我來說幾乎類似幸福的平靜。我知道理查德仍在愛著我。不知怎么回事，有了這封信，我便覺得我們不可能真正分開，哪怕他到了英國、我還留在南非的農(nóng)場。這封信我至今仍保留著，盡管我已經(jīng)年邁體衰，但它仍能帶給我希望和勇氣。"
"I must have been a wonderful letter, Aunt Stephia,"I said.
"斯蒂菲娜老姑，那封信一定美極了吧，"我說。
