Chapter 04 THE INTERVIEW
第四章　會面

AFTER her return to the prison, Hester Prynne was found to be in a state of nervous excitement that demanded constant watchfulness, lest she should perpetrate violence on herself, or do some half-frenzied mischief to the poor babe. As night approached, it proving impossible to quell her insubordination by rebuke or threats of punishment, Master Brackett, the jailer, thought fit to introduce a physician. He described him as a man of skill in all Christian modes of physical science, and likewise familiar with whatever the savage people could teach, in respect to medicinal herbs and roots that grew in the forest. To say the truth, there was much need of professional assistance, not merely for Hester herself, but still more urgently for the child; who, drawing its sustenance from the maternal bosom, seemed to have drank in with it all the turmoil, the anguish and despair, which pervaded the mother's system. It now writhed in convulsions of pain, and was a forcible type, in its little frame, of the moral agony which Hester Prynne had borne throughout the day.
海絲特·白蘭返回監(jiān)獄之后，便陷入一陣神經(jīng)質(zhì)的激動(dòng)之中，必須有人片刻不離地看守著她，以防止她作出自戕之舉，或在一時(shí)狂亂之中對可憐的嬰兒有所傷害。夜幕將臨，人們發(fā)現(xiàn)無論是大聲呵斥抑或是以懲罰作威脅，對于她的不順從都無濟(jì)于事，看守布萊基特先生便主張請一個(gè)醫(yī)生來給她看看。按照他的介紹，那醫(yī)生不但精通基督教的各種醫(yī)術(shù)，面且熟諳從野蠻人那里學(xué)來的長在林間的一切草藥。老實(shí)講，需要醫(yī)生診治的，不僅是海絲特本人，倒是那孩子更為急迫。由于她要從母親的乳汁中汲取營養(yǎng)，似乎同時(shí)吸進(jìn)了滲透在母親肌體中的一切騷動(dòng)、痛楚和絕望。此時(shí)，她正在痛苦的痙攣中扭動(dòng)著，那小小的身軀成了海絲特·白蘭一天中所忍受的精神上的極度痛苦的有力的具體表現(xiàn)。
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Closely following the jailer into the dismal apartment, appeared that individual of singular aspect, whose presence in the crowd had been of such deep interest to the wearer of the scarlet letter. He was lodged in the prison, not as suspected of any offence, but as the most convenient and suitable mode of disposing of him, until the magistrates should have conferred with the Indian sagamores respecting his ransom. His name was announced as Roger Chillingworth. The jailer, after ushering him into the room, remained a moment, marvelling at the comparative quiet that followed his entrance; for Hester Prynne had immediately become as still as death, although the child continued to moan.
那個(gè)外表奇特的陌生人緊跟在看守身后走進(jìn)了凄涼的牢房，他上午在人群中露面的時(shí)候，曾經(jīng)引起了紅字佩戴者的深切注意。長官們后來安排他暫時(shí)棲身獄中，倒不是擔(dān)心他會作出什么有害之舉，而是在和印第安頭人們協(xié)商他的贖身問題之前，只有如此才最為方便妥善。據(jù)稱他名叫羅杰·齊靈渥斯。看守把他領(lǐng)進(jìn)牢房之后，剛逗留了片刻，室內(nèi)居然隨那人的到來而安靜下來，使看守頗為詫異；此時(shí)嬰兒雖然依舊呻喚不止，海絲特·白蘭卻立刻象死去一般地僵呆了。
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"Prithee, friend, leave me alone with my patient," said the practitioner. "Trust me, good jailer, you shall briefly have peace in your house; and, I promise you, Mistress Prynne shall hereafter be more amenable to just authority than you may have found her heretofore."
“朋友，請讓我和我的病人單獨(dú)呆一會兒，”那醫(yī)生說道?！罢埾嘈盼野?，好看守，你管的這間牢房很快就會安靜下來的；而且我還向你保證，白蘭太太將從此遵從執(zhí)法長官，不會再象原先那樣了?！?/div>

"Nay, if your worship can accomplish that," answered Master Brackett, "I shall own you for a man of skill indeed! Verily, the woman hath been like a possessed one; and there lacks little, that I should take in hand to drive Satan out of her with stripes."
“嘿，要是你老先生能夠做到這一條，”布萊基特看守回答說，“我可要承認(rèn)你真是手到病除了！真的，這女人一直象是魔鬼纏身；我簡直使盡了招數(shù)，就差用鞭子把撤旦從她身上趕走啦?！?/div>?