皮漏斗之谜（8）

 

“Well, the placing of the bride’s cake beneath the pillow in order that the sleeper¹ may have pleasant dreams. That is one of several instances which you will find set forth² in a small brochure which I am myself writing upon the subject. But to come back to the point, I slept one night with this funnel³ beside me, and I had a dream which certainly throws a curious light upon its use and origin.”

“What did you dream?”

“I dreamed—” He paused, and an intent look of interest came over his massive face. “By Jove, that’s well thought of,” said he. “This really will be an exceedingly interesting experiment. You are yourself a psychic⁴ subject—with nerves which respond readily to any impression.”

“I have never tested myself in that direction.”

“Then we shall test you tonight. Might I ask you as a very great favour, when you occupy that couch tonight, to sleep with this old funnel placed by the side of your pillow?”

The request seemed to me a grotesque⁵ one; but I have myself, in my complex nature, a hunger after all which is bizarre and fantastic. I had not the faintest belief in Dacre’s theory, nor any hopes for success in such an experiment; yet it amused me that the experiment should be made. Dacre, with great gravity, drew a small stand to the head of my settee, and placed the funnel upon it. Then, after a short conversation, he wished me good night and left me.

“警如把婚宴的喜饼放在枕头下面，以求做个好梦。我曾就这个题目写过一本小册子，里面举了一些例子，这是其中之一。咱们回到刚才的话题。一天夜里，我曾经伴着这个漏斗睡觉，做了个梦，梦中得知了它的来源和用途。”

“你梦见了什么？”

“我梦见一一"他没往下说，宽大的脸上显出沉思的样子。“太棒了，我有个绝好的主意，”他说。“真的，这会是一个特别有趣的实验。你是个敏感的人，你的神经对任何刺激都会有所反应。”

“我从没做过这方面的尝试，”

“那么，咱们就在今晚做实验。你能不能给我个面子，在长沙发上睡觉时把这个古代漏斗放在枕头旁边？”

我的梦中，我将尽可能准确地把它描述出来。现在，它在我的记忆中比清醒的时候看到的任何东西都更清晰，那个房间是拱形建筑，四角的四个拱肩托着圆屋顶，建筑风格粗。它显然是一幢大房子的一部分。

1 sleeper   

n.睡眠者，卧车，卧铺

参考例句：

• I usually go up to London on the sleeper. 我一般都乘卧车去伦敦。
• But first he explained that he was a very heavy sleeper. 但首先他解释说自己睡觉很沉。

2 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

3 funnel   

n.漏斗；烟囱；v.汇集

参考例句：

• He poured the petrol into the car through a funnel.他用一个漏斗把汽油灌入汽车。
• I like the ship with a yellow funnel.我喜欢那条有黄烟囱的船。

4 psychic   

n.对超自然力敏感的人；adj.有超自然力的

参考例句：

• Some people are said to have psychic powers.据说有些人有通灵的能力。
• She claims to be psychic and to be able to foretell the future.她自称有特异功能，能预知未来。

5 grotesque   

adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物）

参考例句：

• His face has a grotesque appearance.他的面部表情十分怪。
• Her account of the incident was a grotesque distortion of the truth.她对这件事的陈述是荒诞地歪曲了事实。