The year 1596 began well,but that summer the weather was really bad.
1596年初风调雨顺,不料夏天天气很糟,
Cold.Wet.It never stopped raining,and the plague began to come back into London.
潮湿阴冷,又遇连绵大雨,伦敦的瘟疫卷土重来,
We were in Stratford for the summer,
于是我们回到斯特拉福镇过夏天。
but I went down to Hampshire for a few weeks to do some business for Will about some sheep.
于是我有几个星期去了汉普郡帮威尔料理羊毛生意。
Will didn&`&t need me at home,because he was busy writing his new play,A Midsummer Night&`&s Dream.
威尔家中一时用不着我帮忙,当时他正忙于编写一部新剧本—《仲夏夜之梦》,
I came back to Stratford one wet August evening.
八月的一个雨夜,我回到斯特拉福镇。
The house in Henley Street was strangely quiet,and I went round the back and up to Will&`&s room—his writing room, we called it.
亨里街的宅邸出奇地静,我便绕到后门径直到了威尔的房间—他的写作室,我们这样称呼。
He was just sitting there not doing anything,just sitting.
他正坐在那里,一动不动地只是呆坐着。
What&`&s the matter,Will?I said.Where is everybody?
出了什么事,威尔?我问道,其他人呢?
At church.His face was grey,and his eyes looked empty,dead.
在教堂。他脸色苍白,眼睛茫然呆滞。
What&`&s happened?I asked.What is it?
发生什么事了?我问道,到底怎么了?
He looked at me.Hamnet… he began.
他望着我。哈姆奈特……,他开口说道,
Hamnet was ill last week,and…and he died,yesterday.
上星期哈姆奈特病倒了,可是……可是他昨天死了。
He was only eleven,Toby,and he&`&s dead.My boy.
他才11岁呀,托比,可他却死了。
My only son.He&`&s dead,Toby.Dead.
我的孩子。我唯一的儿子。托比,他死了,死了。
He put his face in his hands.
他双手掩面哭了。
What Can you say to a man when something like that happens to him?
发生这样的事你又能说什么来安慰他呢?
I sat down next to him and put my hand on his arm.
我挨着他坐下,把手放在他的胳膊上,
We sat together,silently.
就这样并排静静地坐着。
I knew that Will loved that boy of his—red-haired,bright as a new penny,
我知道威尔很疼爱这个儿子——他长着红色闪着光泽的头发,聪明伶俐、
full of life.Just like his father.
生气勃勃,很像他父亲。
After a while I said,You&`&ll have other sons
稍过片刻我说道:你还会有儿子的。
Anne&`&s forty already.Will&`&s voice was tired.
安都40岁了,威尔说这话时,声音充满倦怠,
She&`&s had no children since the twins.
自孪生子以后,她就没生孩子。
Well,now,you&`&ve got two fine girls in Susanna and Judith.
好啦,不用愁的,你还有两个可爱的女儿苏姗娜和珠迪丝。
They&`&ll marry before long,and then you&`&ll have more grandsons than you can count.
将来她们结婚后,你就有数不清的外孙了。
You&`&ll see.There&`&ll be boys running up and down stairs,shouting for their Granddad Will!
你瞧,到时,这些外孙们会在楼梯上跑上跑下围着你亲热地叫他们的威尔外公。
He smiled sadly,but his eyes were not so empty now.Pleased,I went on quickly:
他戚戚地笑了一下,不过现在他的眼神不再那么茫然了。我心中一喜,顺势说道:
And there are all your brothers—Gilbert,Richard,Edmund.
你还有兄弟——吉尔伯特、理查和埃德蒙。
They&`&ll have sons too.The Shakespeare family will never die out.
他们也会有儿子的。莎士比亚家族绝不会无后的。
Think of the family,Will,the family!
想想整个家族吧,威尔,整个家族!
And he did.He was already a famous poet and playwright,but he was a family man,too.
他的确振作起来。尽管他已成为颇具名望的诗人和剧作家,但他也是一个关心家庭的人。
The next year,1597,he bought a new house for his family.
翌年1597年,他为家庭购置了一座新住宅。
It was a big,grand house,called New Place,right in the middle of Stratford.
这座叫作新地方的住宅就在斯特拉福镇中心,规模大且堂皇,
It cost 60—a lot of money—and the townspeople began to say Mr Shakespeare,
花了60英镑,一笔数目可观的钱——于是镇上的居民开始改口称他莎士比亚绅士
not Young Will the actororJohn Shakespeare&`&s boy.
而不再叫小威尔戏子或约翰·莎士比亚的儿子,
They were happy to do business with him,and to borrow money from him.
而且也乐意同他做生意,向他贷款。