Джек Лондон - Мартин Иден / Martin Eden Страница 4

“You have strength,” she said, “but it is untutored strength.”

“Like a bull in a china shop,” he suggested, and won a smile.

“It is beautiful. It is beautiful,” she repeated, with emphasis, after a pause.

Of course it was beautiful; but there was something more than mere beauty in it. He had failed. He was inarticulate. He had seen one of the greatest things in the world, and he had not expressed it.

“It is too wordy. But it was beautiful, in places. You want to be famous?” she asked abruptly.

“Yes, a little bit,” he confessed. “That is part of the adventure. And after all, to be famous would be, for me, only a means to something else. I want to be famous very much, for that matter, and for that reason.”

“For your sake,[75]” he wanted to add.

“I wish you would show me all you write, Mr. Eden,” she said.

He flushed with pleasure. She was interested, that was sure. And at least she had not given him a rejection slip.

“I will,” he said passionately. “And I promise you, Miss Morse, that I will become a writer.” He held up a bunch of manuscript. “Here are the ‘Sea Lyrics.[76]’ Please tell me just what you think of them. What I need, you know, above all things, is criticism. And do, please, be frank with me.”

“I will be perfectly frank,” she promised.

Chapter 14

“The first battle, fought and finished,” Martin said to the looking-glass ten days later. “But there will be a second battle, and a third battle, and battles to the end of time, unless – ”

He had not finished the sentence, but looked about his little room, and his eyes saw a heap of returned manuscripts, still in their long envelopes, which lay in a corner on the floor.

He sat down and regarded the table thoughtfully. There were ink stains upon it, and he suddenly discovered that he loved it very much.

“Dear old table,” he said, “I’ve spent some happy hours with you, and you are a good friend of mine.”

He dropped his arms upon the table and buried his face in them. His throat was aching, and he wanted to cry.

His knees were trembling under him, he felt faint, and he went to the bed. He looked about the room, perplexed, alarmed, wondering where he was, until he caught sight of the pile of manuscripts in the corner. He arose to his feet and confronted himself in the looking-glass.

Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

Примечания

1

Hold on, Arthur. – Подождите, Артур.

2

You mustn’t be frightened at us. – Незачем нас бояться.

3

Swinburne – Суинберн (английский поэт XIX века).

4

Ruth – Руфь

5

Mr. Eden – мистер Иден

6

Martin Eden – Мартин Иден

7

did not shake hands that way – жали руку по-другому

8

It was brave of you. – Вы поступили так мужественно.

9

Swineburne – Свинберн

10

Now Longfellow… – А вот Лонгфелло…

11

‘Excelsior’ – «Эксцельсиор» (одно из самых популярных стихотворений Лонгфелло)

12

Norman – Норман

13

Mr. Morse – мистер Морз

14

It was merely food. – Еда как еда.

15

were looking for trouble – нарывались на неприятности

16

none the less – тем не менее

17

By God! – Чёрт побери!

18

a car – зд. трамвай

19

Berkeley – Беркли

20

HIGGINBOTHAM’S CASH STORE – «Розничная торговля Хиггинботема за наличный расчёт»

21

Bernard Higginbotham – Бернард Хиггинботем

22

Gertrude – Гертруда

23

Don’t bang the door. – Не хлопай дверью.

24

he’s got to get out – пусть убирается отсюда

25

a wash-stand – умывальник

26

This name delighted his ear. – Это имя ласкало его слух.

27

the very thought of her – сама мысль о ней

28

looking-glass – зеркало

29

Browning – Браунинг

30

Alfred – Алфред

31

a quarter – монета в двадцать пять центов

32

Lizzie Connolly – Лиззи Конноли

33

so far behind – так далеко позади

34

Karl Marx, Ricardo, Adam Smith, and Mill – Карл Маркс, Рикардо, Адам Смит и Милль

35

call her up on the telephone – позвонить ей по телефону

36

say, for instance, Miss Lizzie Smith – скажем, например, с мисс Лиззи Смит

37

until you come to know her better – пока не познакомитесь с ней поближе

38

change in him for the better – перемена в нём к лучшему

39

why, the books come true – ну, прямо как в книжках

40

when it comes to hard work – когда дело доходит до холодной работы

41

Lotus Club – Лотос-клуб

42

what had become of him – что с ним приключилось

43

experiences of the heart – сердечные волнения

44

was to take heart of life – значило получить жизненный заряд

45

Mr. Butler – мистер Батлер

46

had been put aside – были отложены в сторону

47

he denied himself the enjoyments – он отказывал себе в удовольствиях

48

I’ll bet – бьюсь об заклад

49

his thirty thousand came along too late – слишком поздно пришли эти его тридцать тысяч

50

he did a great deal of studying and reading – он значительно продвинулся в своих занятиях

51

SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER – «Обозреватель Сан-Франциско» (название газеты)

52

seafaring – матросская служба

53

THE YOUTH’S COMPANION – «Спутник юношества» (название газеты)

54

that editors saw fit to publish – которые нравятся издателям

55

BOOK NEWS – «Книжный бюллетень»

56

Rudyard Kipling – Редьяр Киплинг

57

two months’ wages on the sea – заработок за два месяца плавания

58

at one time – сразу

59

Marion – Мэрион

60

made-to-order suit – костюм, сшитый на заказ

61

clear-headed – здравомыслящий

62

Trust that to me. – Доверься мне.

63

he had failed in everything save grammar – провалился по всем предметам, за исключением грамматики

64

Hilton – Хилтон

65

pearl-diving article – статья о ловцах жемчуга

66

turtle-catching – ловля черепах

67

he cut his sleep down – он сократил время сна

68

City Hall Park – Сити-Холл-парк

69

They lost their tempers easily. – Они легко выходили из себя.

70

Herbert Spencer – Герберт Спенсер (английский философ и социолог, идеи которого пользовались большой популярностью в конце XIX века)

71

Kant – Кант

72

the grain of sand – песчинка

73

and yet it sold – и все-таки она оплачивалась

74

amateurishness – дилетантизм

75

for your sake – ради вас

76

Sea Lyrics – «Песни моря»