自译 契诃夫短篇小说 A happy ending 征婚（英文转译）
A HAPPY ENDING 征婚
Translated by Constance Garnett 1887
LYUBOV GRIGORYEVNA, a substantial, buxom lady of forty who undertook matchmaking and many other matters of which it is usual to speak only in whispers, had come to see Stytchkin, the head guard, on a day when he was off duty. Stytchkin, somewhat embarrassed, but, as always, grave, practical, and severe, was walking up and down the room, smoking a cigar and saying:
葛金凤今年四十了，生的膀大腰圆、丰乳肥臀，人都管她叫葛媒婆，不过私下里也帮着撮合一些上不了台面的事。这天她来到老沈家，老沈在铁路干保安，当天正好歇班。老沈有点不好意思，可依旧是一脸的严肃，只见他在屋里来回踱步，叼着一只雪茄烟，开口道：
“Very pleased to make your acquaintance. Semyon Ivanovitch recommended you on the ground that you may be able to assist me in a delicate and very important matter affecting the happiness of my life. I have, Lyubov Grigoryevna, reached the age of fifty-two; that is a period of life at which very many have already grown-up children. My position is a secure one. Though my fortune is not large, yet I am in a position to support a beloved being and children at my side. I may tell you between ourselves that apart from my salary I have also money in the bank which my manner of living has enabled me to save. I am a practical and sober man, I lead a sensible and consistent life, so that I may hold myself up as an example to many. But one thing I lack — a domestic hearth of my own and a partner in life, and I live like a wandering Magyar, moving from place to place without any satisfaction. I have no one with whom to take counsel, and when I am ill no one to give me water, and so on. Apart from that, Lyubov Grigoryevna, a married man has always more weight in society than a bachelor.... I am a man of the educated class, with money, but if you look at me from a point of view, what am I? A man with no kith and kin, no better than some Polish priest. And therefore I should be very desirous to be united in the bonds of Hymen — that is, to enter into matrimony with some worthy person.”
“幸会幸会。老冯跟我说您能在婚姻大事上助我一臂之力。不瞒您说，我今年五十二了，我这个岁数的有些连孩子都不小了。我挣的是铁饭碗，虽然说赚钱不多，不过还养得起一家大小。说句悄悄话，我不光有工资，平时还存了些钱。我是个实在人，我活得特别规矩，说句大话，我的活法能给人做榜样。可是哪——我想有个家，想找个陪我过日子的人，打了这么些年光棍，再单下去真没意思。家里也没个能陪我说说话的，病了也没个能给我倒杯水的。再就是啊，葛大姐，结了婚的男人比没结婚的腰板直……我念过书，也挣了钱，可您看我没亲没故的，这活得连和尚都不如。总之我想找个没人碰过的、有点条件的跟我成家。”
“An excellent thing,” said the matchmaker, with a sigh.
“成家好啊。”媒婆说着叹了口气。
“I am a solitary man and in this town I know no one. Where can I go, and to whom can I apply, since all the people here are strangers to me? That is why Semyon Ivanovitch advised me to address myself to a person who is a specialist in this line, and makes the arrangement of the happiness of others her profession. And therefore I most earnestly beg you, Lyubov Grigoryevna, to assist me in ordering my future. You know all the marriageable young ladies in the town, and it is easy for you to accommodate me.”
“我在镇子上谁也不认识。您说这叫我找谁出主意，找谁帮忙？所以老冯才叫我找一个最懂撮合，最会牵线搭桥的行家帮我一把。葛大姐我求求您，我后半辈子就全指望您了。咱这儿谁家有没出阁的姑娘您最清楚，您就行行好帮我介绍个合适的吧。”
“I can…
“包在……”
“A glass of wine, I beg you…”
“您来杯酒，别客气别客气……”
With an habitual gesture the matchmaker raised her glass to her mouth and tossed it off without winking.
媒婆咕咚一声把酒喝进了肚，连眼都没眨。
“I can,” she repeated. “And what sort of bride would you like, Nikolay Nikolayitch?”
“包在我身上。”媒婆说道，“你想找个什么样的，沈大哥？”
“Should I like? The bride fate sends me.”
“什么样的？随缘就行。”
“Well, of course it depends on your fate, but everyone has his own taste, you know. One likes dark ladies, the other prefers fair ones.”
“不是，缘分归缘分，咱总得提点要求吧。比如喜欢黑一点的，喜欢漂亮一点的，一人一个喜好。”
“You see, Lyubov Grigoryevna,” said Stytchkin, sighing sedately, “I am a practical man and a man of character; for me beauty and external appearance generally take a secondary place, for, as you know yourself, beauty is neither bowl nor platter, and a pretty wife involves a great deal of anxiety. The way I look at it is, what matters most in a woman is not what is external, but what lies within — that is, that she should have soul and all the qualities. A glass of wine, I beg.... Of course, it would be very agreeable that one’s wife should be rather plump, but for mutual happiness it is not of great consequence; what matters is the mind. Properly speaking, a woman does not need mind either, for if she has brains she will have too high an opinion of herself, and take all sorts of ideas into her head. One cannot do without education nowadays, of course, but education is of different kinds. It would be pleasing for one’s wife to know French and German, to speak various languages, very pleasing; but what’s the use of that if she can’t sew on one’s buttons, perhaps? I am a man of the educated class: I am just as much at home, I may say, with Prince Kanitelin as I am with you here now. But my habits are simple, and I want a girl who is not too much a fine lady. Above all, she must have respect for me and feel that I have made her happiness.”
“您把我想得太肤浅了，葛大姐。”老沈缓缓叹道，“我是个实际的人，对我来说外表永远是第二位的。您自己说，长得漂亮有用吗？是能多换二斤米是能多换二斤面？再者说媳妇漂亮可就麻烦了。我是这么想的，女人最重要的不是外表，而是内涵，一定要有内涵才行。您喝酒，喝酒……要说娶个漂亮媳妇也不是什么坏事，不过两口子之间长相什么的不重要，重要的是思想。这么说吧，女子无才便是德，女的太精明了要么摆臭架子，要么就谁说的都听。当然现在这个社会没点知识肯定不行，不过知识也分很多种啊。比方说假如我媳妇会法国话、德国话、好几国话，那敢情好，可要是她连扣子都不会缝那还有什么用？我念过书，我不论对谁都没偏见。我的标准很简单，太有学问的我不要。是我媳妇就应该尊重我，她的幸福可都是我给的。”
“To be sure.”
“那当然。”
“Well, now as regards the essential.... I do not want a wealthy bride; I would never condescend to anything so low as to marry for money. I desire not to be kept by my wife, but to keep her, and that she may be sensible of it. But I do not want a poor girl either. Though I am a man of means, and am marrying not from mercenary motives, but from love, yet I cannot take a poor girl, for, as you know yourself, prices have gone up so, and there will be children.”
“该谈谈最主要的了……太有钱的我不要。我可不是那种为钱结婚的低俗小人。等结了婚我可不想叫媳妇管着，她凭什么管我，我管她才像话。不过没钱的我也不要。虽然我有钱，而且我结婚也不是为了钱，但是出于感情的考虑，女方没钱是绝对不行的，现在物价这么高，日后再有了孩子可怎么办。”
“One might find one with a dowry,” said the matchmaker.
“要找个带嫁妆的。”媒婆说道。
“A glass of wine, I beg…”
“您再来一杯，别客气别客气……”
There was a pause of five minutes.
二人沉默了五分钟。
The matchmaker heaved a sigh, took a sidelong glance at the guard, and asked:
葛媒婆叹了声气，偷偷瞥了老沈一眼，问道：
“Well, now, my good sir... do you want anything in the bachelor line? I have some fine bargains. One is a French girl and one is a Greek. Well worth the money.”
“那什么…沈大哥，你想不想找个姑娘玩玩？我认识几个挺不错的，都是一等一的美人。”
The guard thought a moment and said:
老沈想了一会儿，说道：
“No, I thank you. In view of your favourable disposition, allow me to enquire now how much you ask for your exertions in regard to a bride?”
“免了吧。还说找媳妇的事，介绍成了你要多少钱？”
“I don’t ask much. Give me twenty-five roubles and the stuff for a dress, as is usual, and I will say thank you... but for the dowry, that’s a different account.”
“不多，收你二十五块，外加做衣裳的料子。不过彩礼嘛…就得另算了。”
Stytchkin folded his arms over his chest and fell to pondering in silence. After some thought he heaved a sigh and said:
老沈抱着胳膊沉思着，不说话了。不一会儿他叹了口气，说道：
“That’s dear…”
“这么贵……”
“It’s not at all dear, Nikolay Nikolayitch! In old days when there were lots of weddings one did do it cheaper, but nowadays what are our earnings? If you make fifty roubles in a month that is not a fast, you may be thankful. It’s not on weddings we make our money, my good sir.”
“这还贵？以前婚事多的时候倒能少要点，可现在我们哪儿挣钱去？现在一个月挣五十块也就勉强糊糊口，要单靠说合赚钱我早饿死了。”
Stytchkin looked at the matchmaker in amazement and shrugged his shoulders.
老沈惊讶地望着葛媒婆，扭了扭肩膀。
“H’m!... Do you call fifty roubles little?” he asked.
“是吗！照你说…五十块算少的？”他问道。
“Of course it is little! In old days we sometimes made more than a hundred.”
“那是！搁以前运气好我能挣一百块。”
“H’m! I should never have thought it was possible to earn such a sum by these jobs. Fifty roubles! It is not every man that earns as much! Pray drink your wine…”
“是吗！想不到你们这行还挺来财的。五十块，嚯！好些男的也挣不了这么些钱哪！你喝酒，喝酒……”
The matchmaker drained her glass without winking. Stytchkin looked her over from head to foot in silence, then said:
葛媒婆一仰脖喝了。老沈把她从头到脚打量了一番，开口道：
“Fifty roubles.... Why, that is six hundred roubles a year.... Please take some more. . . With such dividends, you know, Lyubov Grigoryevna, you would have no difficulty in making a match for yourself…”
“一个月五十块…这一年下来就是六百块……你再喝点，喝，喝……我说葛大姐，你挣得这么多，肯定不愁找不着男人吧……”
“For myself,” laughed the matchmaker, “I am an old woman.”
“老喽。”葛媒婆笑道，“没人要喽。”
“Not at all.... You have such a figure, and your face is plump and fair, and all the rest of it.”
“这叫什么话……你身条这么好，脸蛋又这么漂亮，肉嘟嘟的，多好看。”
The matchmaker was embarrassed. Stytchkin was also embarrassed and sat down beside her.
媒婆脸红了。老沈也红着脸坐到了她身边。
“You are still very attractive,” said he; “if you met with a practical, steady, careful husband, with his salary and your earnings you might even attract him very much, and you’d get on very well together...”
“你瞧你多漂亮，又这么能挣钱，”他说道，“要是遇上个既能赚钱又知道疼你的实在人，你可就享福啦……”
“Goodness knows what you are saying, Nikolay Nikolayitch.”
“真是，沈大哥你说的这是什么话呀。”
“Well, I meant no harm...”
“我这是真心话嘛……”
A silence followed. Stytchkin began loudly blowing his nose, while the matchmaker turned crimson, and looking bashfully at him, asked:
又一阵沉默。老沈轰隆隆地醒着鼻子，媒婆的脸红透了，她害羞地看着他，问道：
“And how much do you get, Nikolay Nikolayitch?”
“你一个月挣多少啊，沈大哥？”
“I? Seventy-five roubles, besides tips.... Apart from that we make something out of candles and hares.”
“我？基本工资七十五，不算外快……有时候遇见扒火车的还另有油水。”
“You go hunting, then?”
“你还做保洁？”
“No. Passengers who travel without tickets are called hares with us.”
“不是。扒火车的就是说逃票的。”
Another minute passed in silence. Stytchkin got up and walked about the room in excitement.
又一分钟过去了。老沈站起身，在屋里激动地走着。
“I don’t want a young wife,” said he. “I am a middle-aged man, and I want someone who... as it might be like you... staid and settled and a figure something like yours...”
“我不想找太年轻的。”他说道，“我年纪也不小了，我想找个…找个跟你差不多的…规规矩矩，能挣钱，也和你这种身段的……”
“Goodness knows what you are saying...” giggled the matchmaker, hiding her crimson face in her kerchief.
“你讨厌，没羞没臊的……”葛媒婆拿手绢挡住脸，在后面偷偷笑着。
“There is no need to be long thinking about it. You are after my own heart, and you suit me in your qualities. I am a practical, sober man, and if you like me... what could be better? Allow me to make you a proposal!”
“这还考虑什么。葛大姐，我找的就是你，没有比你再合适的了。我是个实在人，要是你也看我不错，那还有什么说的？你嫁给我吧！”
The matchmaker dropped a tear, laughed, and, in token of her consent, clinked glasses with Stytchkin.
葛媒婆落了一滴泪，笑了，用一声清脆的碰杯答应了老沈的请求。
“Well,” said the happy railway guard, “now allow me to explain to you the behaviour and manner of life I desire from you.... I am a strict, respectable, practical man. I take a gentlemanly view of everything. And I desire that my wife should be strict also, and should understand that to her I am a benefactor and the foremost person in the world.”
“好好好。”老沈喜笑颜开道，“现在你听好了，我对你有这么几点要求……我是个有道德、有身份、讲实际的人，无论对什么事都要讲规矩。做我的媳妇就得规规矩矩的，既然我是你丈夫，你就得听我的话，你就应该只把我放在头一位。”
He sat down, and, heaving a deep sigh, began expounding to his bride-elect his views on domestic life and a wife’s duties.
他又坐下来，深深地叹了声气，同他的未婚妻讲起了妇道人家应尽的责任和规矩。
