月亮和六便士 第四十八章(3)

 "You see, I was interested in him because he was a painter," he told me.? “你知道，我对他感兴趣是因为他是个画家，”他对我说，

"We don't get many painters in the islands, and I was sorry for him because he was such a bad one. “很少有画家到我们这些岛上来，我很可怜他，因为我觉得他画的画很蹩脚。

I gave him his first job. I had a plantation¹ on the peninsula², and I wanted a white overseer. 他的头一个工作就是我给他的。我在半岛上有一个种植园，需要一个白人监工。

You never get any work out of the natives unless you have a white man over them. 除非有个白人监督着他们，这些土人是绝不肯给你干活的。

I said to him: 'You'll have plenty of time for painting, and you can earn a bit of money.' 我对他说：‘你有的是时间画画儿，你还可以挣点钱。’

I knew he was starving, but I offered him good wages." 我知道他正在挨饿，但是我给他的工资很高。”

"I can't imagine that he was a very satisfactory³ overseer," I said, smiling. “我想他不是一个令人满意的监工。”我笑着说。

"I made allowances⁴. I have always had a sympathy for artists. It is in our blood, you know. “我对他的要求并不苛刻。我对艺术家总是同情的。我们一家人生来就是这样，你知道。

But he only remained a few months. 但是他只干了几个月的活儿。

When he had enough money to buy paints and canvases⁵ he left me. The place had got hold of him by then, and he wanted to get away into the bush. 等他攒够了钱，能够买油彩和画布的时候，他就想离开这地方，跑到荒林里去。

But I continued to see him now and then. 但是我还是经常不断地能见到他。

He would turn up in Papeete every few months and stay a little while; he'd get money out of someone or other and then disappear again. 每过几个月他就到帕皮提来一次，待几天；他会从随便哪个人手里弄到点钱，于是又无影无踪了。

It was on one of these visits that he came to me and asked for the loan⁶ of two hundred francs. 正是在他这样一次访问时，他到我家里来，要向我借两百法郎。

He looked as if he hadn't had a meal for a week, and I hadn't the heart to refuse him. 他的样子象是一个礼拜没吃一顿饱饭了，我不忍心拒绝他。

Of course, I never expected to see my money again. 当然了，我知道这笔钱我绝不会再要回来了。

Well, a year later he came to see me once more, and he brought a picture with him. 你猜怎么着，一年以后，他又来看我了，带着一幅画。

He did not mention the money he owed me, but he said: 'Here is a picture of your plantation that I've painted for you.' 他没提向我借钱的事，他只说：‘这是一幅你那座种植园的画，是我给你画的。’

I looked at it. I did not know what to say, but of course I thanked him, and when he had gone away I showed it to my wife." 我看了看他的画。我不知道该说什么。当然了，我还是对他表示感谢。他走了以后，我把这幅画拿给我的妻子看。”

1 plantation   

n.种植园，大农场

参考例句：

• His father-in-law is a plantation manager.他岳父是个种植园经营者。
• The plantation owner has possessed himself of a vast piece of land.这个种植园主把大片土地占为己有。

2 peninsula   

n.半岛

参考例句：

• Dalian is in the south of the Liaodong Peninsula.大连位于辽东半岛南部。
• Korean peninsula lies to the west of Japan.朝鲜半岛在日本以西。

3 satisfactory   

adj.令人满意的；可喜的；恰当的

参考例句：

• I hope this arrangement will be satisfactory to you.我希望这种安排会使你满意。
• After much discussion we came at a conclusion satisfactory to all.经过充分讨论，我们得出了大家都很满意的结论。

4 allowances   

津贴( allowance的名词复数 )； 补助； 1 限额； 定量 2 免税额

参考例句：

• Government officials who travel on business are given traveling allowances. 因公出差的政府官员享有出差补贴。
• The court was asked to make allowances for his age. 人们要求法庭考虑他的年龄。

5 canvases   

n.帆布( canvas的名词复数 )；油画（布）

参考例句：

• a sale of the artist's early canvases 那位画家早期油画的拍卖
• I should look deep into the canvases of Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, Rembrandt. 我要仔细端详拉斐尔、达芬奇、提香和瑞姆布兰特的油画。 来自辞典例句

6 loan   

n.贷款；借出的东西；借；vt.借出；贷予

参考例句：

• I asked the bank to help me with a loan.我请银行给我一笔贷款。
• Has the bank okayed your request for a loan?银行批准你的贷款要求了吗？