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"A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens (full novel), Stave Two. The First of the Three Spirits - Part 7

Stave Two. The First of the Three Spirits - Part 7

They were in another scene and place; a room, not very large or handsome, but full of comfort. Near to the winter fire sat a beautiful young girl, so like that last that Scrooge believed it was the same, until he saw her, now a comely matron, sitting opposite her daughter. The noise in this room was perfectly tumultuous, for there were more children there, than Scrooge in his agitated state of mind could count; and, unlike the celebrated herd in the poem, they were not forty children conducting themselves like one, but every child was conducting itself like forty. The consequences were uproarious beyond belief; but no one seemed to care; on the contrary, the mother and daughter laughed heartily, and enjoyed it very much; and the latter, soon beginning to mingle in the sports, got pillaged by the young brigands most ruthlessly. What would I not have given to be one of them! Though I never could have been so rude, no, no! I wouldn't for the wealth of all the world have crushed that braided hair, and torn it down; and for the precious little shoe, I wouldn't have plucked it off, God bless my soul! to save my life. As to measuring her waist in sport, as they did, bold young brood, I couldn't have done it; I should have expected my arm to have grown round it for a punishment, and never come straight again. And yet I should have dearly liked, I own, to have touched her lips; to have questioned her, that she might have opened them; to have looked upon the lashes of her downcast eyes, and never raised a blush; to have let loose waves of hair, an inch of which would be a keepsake beyond price: in short, I should have liked, I do confess, to have had the lightest licence of a child, and yet to have been man enough to know its value.

But now a knocking at the door was heard, and such a rush immediately ensued that she with laughing face and plundered dress was borne towards it the centre of a flushed and boisterous group, just in time to greet the father, who came home attended by a man laden with Christmas toys and presents. Then the shouting and the struggling, and the onslaught that was made on the defenceless porter! The scaling him with chairs for ladders to dive into his pockets, despoil him of brown-paper parcels, hold on tight by his cravat, hug him round his neck, pommel his back, and kick his legs in irrepressible affection! The shouts of wonder and delight with which the development of every package was received! The terrible announcement that the baby had been taken in the act of putting a doll's frying-pan into his mouth, and was more than suspected of having swallowed a fictitious turkey, glued on a wooden platter! The immense relief of finding this a false alarm! The joy, and gratitude, and ecstasy! They are all indescribable alike. It is enough that by degrees the children and their emotions got out of the parlour, and by one stair at a time, up to the top of the house; where they went to bed, and so subsided.

And now Scrooge looked on more attentively than ever, when the master of the house, having his daughter leaning fondly on him, sat down with her and her mother at his own fireside; and when he thought that such another creature, quite as graceful and as full of promise, might have called him father, and been a spring-time in the haggard winter of his life, his sight grew very dim indeed.

“Belle,” said the husband, turning to his wife with a smile, “I saw an old friend of yours this afternoon.”

“Who was it?”

“Guess!”

“How can I? Tut, don't I know?” she added in the same breath, laughing as he laughed. “Mr. Scrooge.”

“Mr. Scrooge it was. I passed his office window; and as it was not shut up, and he had a candle inside, I could scarcely help seeing him. His partner lies upon the point of death, I hear; and there he sat alone. Quite alone in the world, I do believe.”

“Spirit!” said Scrooge in a broken voice, “remove me from this place.”

“I told you these were shadows of the things that have been,” said the Ghost. “That they are what they are, do not blame me!”

“Remove me!” Scrooge exclaimed, “I cannot bear it!”

He turned upon the Ghost, and seeing that it looked upon him with a face, in which in some strange way there were fragments of all the faces it had shown him, wrestled with it.

“Leave me! Take me back. Haunt me no longer!”

In the struggle, if that can be called a struggle in which the Ghost with no visible resistance on its own part was undisturbed by any effort of its adversary, Scrooge observed that its light was burning high and bright; and dimly connecting that with its influence over him, he seized the extinguisher-cap, and by a sudden action pressed it down upon its head.

The Spirit dropped beneath it, so that the extinguisher covered its whole form; but though Scrooge pressed it down with all his force, he could not hide the light: which streamed from under it, in an unbroken flood upon the ground.

He was conscious of being exhausted, and overcome by an irresistible drowsiness; and, further, of being in his own bedroom. He gave the cap a parting squeeze, in which his hand relaxed; and had barely time to reel to bed, before he sank into a heavy sleep.

Stave Two. The First of the Three Spirits - Part 7 스테이브 2. 세 가지 정신 중 첫 번째 - 파트 7 Pauta Dois. O primeiro dos três Espíritos - Parte 7

They were in another scene and place; a room, not very large or handsome, but full of comfort. Near to the winter fire sat a beautiful young girl, so like that last that Scrooge believed it was the same, until he saw her, now a comely matron, sitting opposite her daughter. Près du feu d'hiver était assise une belle jeune fille, si semblable à cette dernière que Scrooge crut que c'était la même chose, jusqu'à ce qu'il la voie, maintenant une charmante matrone, assise en face de sa fille. The noise in this room was perfectly tumultuous, for there were more children there, than Scrooge in his agitated state of mind could count; and, unlike the celebrated herd in the poem, they were not forty children conducting themselves like one, but every child was conducting itself like forty. Le bruit dans cette pièce était parfaitement tumultueux, car il y avait là plus d'enfants que Scrooge, dans son état d'esprit agité, ne pouvait en compter ; et, à la différence du troupeau célèbre dans le poème, ils n'étaient pas quarante enfants se conduisant comme un, mais chaque enfant se conduisait comme quarante. The consequences were uproarious beyond belief; but no one seemed to care; on the contrary, the mother and daughter laughed heartily, and enjoyed it very much; and the latter, soon beginning to mingle in the sports, got pillaged by the young brigands most ruthlessly. Les conséquences ont été tonitruantes au-delà de la croyance; mais personne ne semblait s'en soucier ; au contraire, la mère et la fille riaient de bon cœur, et l'appréciaient beaucoup ; et ce dernier, commençant bientôt à se mêler aux sports, fut pillé par les jeunes brigands le plus impitoyablement. What would I not have given to be one of them! Que n'aurais-je pas donné pour être l'un d'entre eux ! Though I never could have been so rude, no, no! Même si je n'aurais jamais pu être aussi grossier, non, non ! I wouldn't for the wealth of all the world have crushed that braided hair, and torn it down; and for the precious little shoe, I wouldn't have plucked it off, God bless my soul! Je n'aurais pas, pour la richesse de tout le monde, écrasé ces cheveux tressés, et les ai arrachés ; et pour le précieux petit soulier, je ne l'aurais pas arraché, que Dieu bénisse mon âme ! to save my life. As to measuring her waist in sport, as they did, bold young brood, I couldn't have done it; I should have expected my arm to have grown round it for a punishment, and never come straight again. Quant à mesurer son tour de taille en sport, comme ils l'ont fait, jeune couvée audacieuse, je n'aurais pas pu le faire ; J'aurais dû m'attendre à ce que mon bras l'entoure pour une punition, et qu'il ne se redresse plus jamais. And yet I should have dearly liked, I own, to have touched her lips; to have questioned her, that she might have opened them; to have looked upon the lashes of her downcast eyes, and never raised a blush; to have let loose waves of hair, an inch of which would be a keepsake beyond price: in short, I should have liked, I do confess, to have had the lightest licence of a child, and yet to have been man enough to know its value. Et pourtant j'aurais bien aimé, je l'avoue, toucher ses lèvres ; l'avoir interrogée, afin qu'elle les eût ouverts ; avoir regardé les cils de ses yeux baissés et n'avoir jamais rougi ; avoir lâché des mèches de cheveux dont un centimètre serait un souvenir inestimable : bref, j'aurais aimé, je l'avoue, avoir la licence la plus légère d'un enfant, et pourtant être assez homme pour savoir Sa valeur.

But now a knocking at the door was heard, and such a rush immediately ensued that she with laughing face and plundered dress was borne towards it the centre of a flushed and boisterous group, just in time to greet the father, who came home attended by a man laden with Christmas toys and presents. Mais maintenant, on entendit frapper à la porte, et une telle précipitation s'ensuivit immédiatement qu'elle avec le visage riant et la robe pillée fut portée vers elle au centre d'un groupe rouge et bruyant, juste à temps pour saluer le père, qui rentra à la maison accompagné de un homme chargé de jouets et de cadeaux de Noël. Then the shouting and the struggling, and the onslaught that was made on the defenceless porter! Puis les cris et les luttes, et l'assaut qui a été fait sur le portier sans défense ! The scaling him with chairs for ladders to dive into his pockets, despoil him of brown-paper parcels, hold on tight by his cravat, hug him round his neck, pommel his back, and kick his legs in irrepressible affection! Ils l'escaladent avec des chaises comme des échelles pour plonger dans ses poches, le dépouillent de paquets de papier kraft, le serrent fort par sa cravate, le serrent autour du cou, lui donnent un pommeau dans le dos et lui donnent des coups de pied dans les jambes avec une affection irrépressible ! The shouts of wonder and delight with which the development of every package was received! Les cris d'émerveillement et de joie avec lesquels le développement de chaque paquet a été reçu ! The terrible announcement that the baby had been taken in the act of putting a doll's frying-pan into his mouth, and was more than suspected of having swallowed a fictitious turkey, glued on a wooden platter! La terrible annonce que le bébé avait été pris en train de mettre une poêle à frire de poupée dans sa bouche, et qu'il était plus que suspect d'avoir avalé une dinde fictive, collée sur un plateau de bois ! The immense relief of finding this a false alarm! The joy, and gratitude, and ecstasy! They are all indescribable alike. Ils sont tous indescriptibles. It is enough that by degrees the children and their emotions got out of the parlour, and by one stair at a time, up to the top of the house; where they went to bed, and so subsided. Il suffit que peu à peu les enfants et leurs émotions soient sortis du parloir, et par un escalier à la fois, jusqu'au sommet de la maison ; où ils sont allés se coucher, et ainsi se sont calmés.

And now Scrooge looked on more attentively than ever, when the master of the house, having his daughter leaning fondly on him, sat down with her and her mother at his own fireside; and when he thought that such another creature, quite as graceful and as full of promise, might have called him father, and been a spring-time in the haggard winter of his life, his sight grew very dim indeed. Et maintenant Scrooge regardait plus attentivement que jamais, quand le maître de la maison, ayant sa fille appuyée tendrement sur lui, s'assit avec elle et sa mère à son propre foyer ; et quand il pensa qu'une autre créature, tout aussi gracieuse et aussi pleine de promesses, aurait pu l'appeler père, et avoir été un printemps dans l'hiver hagard de sa vie, sa vue devint vraiment très obscure.

“Belle,” said the husband, turning to his wife with a smile, “I saw an old friend of yours this afternoon.”

“Who was it?”

“Guess!”

“How can I? Tut, don't I know?” she added in the same breath, laughing as he laughed. “Mr. Scrooge.”

“Mr. Scrooge it was. I passed his office window; and as it was not shut up, and he had a candle inside, I could scarcely help seeing him. Je passai devant la fenêtre de son bureau ; et comme elle n'était pas fermée, et qu'il avait une bougie à l'intérieur, je pouvais à peine m'empêcher de le voir. His partner lies upon the point of death, I hear; and there he sat alone. Son partenaire est sur le point de mourir, j'entends ; et là il s'assit seul. Quite alone in the world, I do believe.”

“Spirit!” said Scrooge in a broken voice, “remove me from this place.”

“I told you these were shadows of the things that have been,” said the Ghost. “That they are what they are, do not blame me!”

“Remove me!” Scrooge exclaimed, “I cannot bear it!”

He turned upon the Ghost, and seeing that it looked upon him with a face, in which in some strange way there were fragments of all the faces it had shown him, wrestled with it. Il se tourna vers le fantôme, et voyant qu'il le regardait avec un visage dans lequel, d'une manière étrange, il y avait des fragments de tous les visages qu'il lui avait montrés, il lutta avec lui.

“Leave me! Take me back. Haunt me no longer!” Ne me hante plus !

In the struggle, if that can be called a struggle in which the Ghost with no visible resistance on its own part was undisturbed by any effort of its adversary, Scrooge observed that its light was burning high and bright; and dimly connecting that with its influence over him, he seized the extinguisher-cap, and by a sudden action pressed it down upon its head. Dans la lutte, si l'on peut appeler cela une lutte dans laquelle le fantôme sans résistance visible de sa part n'a été perturbé par aucun effort de son adversaire, Scrooge a observé que sa lumière brûlait haut et brillant ; et associant vaguement cela à son influence sur lui, il saisit le capuchon de l'extincteur, et par une action soudaine le pressa contre sa tête.

The Spirit dropped beneath it, so that the extinguisher covered its whole form; but though Scrooge pressed it down with all his force, he could not hide the light: which streamed from under it, in an unbroken flood upon the ground. L'Esprit tomba en dessous, de sorte que l'extincteur couvrit toute sa forme ; mais bien que Scrooge l'ait enfoncé de toutes ses forces, il ne pouvait pas cacher la lumière : qui coulait de dessous, en un flot ininterrompu sur le sol.

He was conscious of being exhausted, and overcome by an irresistible drowsiness; and, further, of being in his own bedroom. Il se sentit épuisé et pris d'une irrésistible somnolence ; et, en outre, d'être dans sa propre chambre. He gave the cap a parting squeeze, in which his hand relaxed; and had barely time to reel to bed, before he sank into a heavy sleep. Il serra le bonnet d'adieu, dans lequel sa main se détendit ; et eut à peine le temps de se coucher avant de sombrer dans un profond sommeil.