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翌日、発掘に必要なあらゆるものを準備した。宝探しによく使われる呪符、樫の木、魔法の帯、象形文字などは持っていなかったが、つるはし、鋤、そして何よりも地下の宝物が手元にあれば、それらは必要ない。日没後すぐにフランクは掘る道具をその場所に運び、生け垣に隠した。宝物については、幽霊の名誉に信を置き、騙されることはないと確信していた。甚だじりじりと月の出を待ち、銀色の角が茂みの間から見えるとすぐに労働を始め、その過程で老兵の言ったことすべてに注意を払い、ついに、黒いマスティフにも不機嫌な狼にも遭わず、青い鬼火を頼りにすることなく、事故も妨害もなく宝物を発見し取り出したのである。
On the next day he prepared every thing necessary for digging. He had not the materials usually employed by searchers after treasure; such as, a conjuration form, an osier twig, an enchanted girdle, hieroglyphics and the like; neither are they necessary, if the three principal things viz., a pick-axe, spade, and above all, the subterraneous treasures are at hand. Soon after sun-set Frank carried the digging implements near to the spot, and hid them in a hedge; as to the treasure he had the firmest reliance on the honour of the ghost, and felt confident he would not deceive him. He waited for the appearance of the moon with great impatience, and, as soon as her silvery horns were seen through the bushes, he began his labour, observing in its progress, to pay attention to every thing the old soldier had said, and at length actually found and got out the treasure without any accident nor opposition, either from a black mastiff or a scowling wolf, and without having the light of a blue flame to guide him.
鉄の箱が忠実に守っていた様々な金貨を、言いようのない喜びとともに手に取った。有頂天が少し落ち着くと、その宝物をいかにして安全に、人目に触れずに自分の下宿まで運ぼうかと考え始めた。しかし宝物は、人手を借りずに運べる重さではなく、こんなところで初めて、富の所有と切り離せない不安という奴を味わう羽目になった。このにわかクロイソスは、庭の裏の草原にある空洞の木に財産を入れる以外の方法を思いつかず、空の箱は穴に戻し、土をかぶせて地面をできるだけ平らにした。窪みの木から自分の粗末な家まで、全ての金袋を無事に運び込むまでまるまる3日かかった。
これで潜伏生活も終わりにして良いだろう。豪華な服を着て教会に行き、願い出た。今までの祈りを止め、代わりに旅人が商売を成功させて無事に故郷に帰れた、感謝の祈りを捧げることを。教会の片隅に身を隠し、人知れず愛するメラの姿を目に焼き付けた。このとき、彼女の頬は喜びで輝き、見れば誰も誤解しようもないくらい、歓喜を隠すことができなかった。
He took up, with unspeakable joy, some of the different gold coins which the iron chest had faithfully guarded. After the first delight had somewhat subsided, he began to consider how he might transport the treasure safely and unperceived to his lodgings. It was too heavy for him to carry it without assistance, and he experienced therefore, immediately, some of the anxiety which is inseparably united to the possession of wealth. Our new Croesus could discover no other way but to place his riches in a hollow tree which stood in a meadow behind the garden; he then put the empty chest back into the hole, covered it with earth and made the ground as level as he could. At the end of three days he had carried all the money bags from the hollow tree safely to his own humble dwelling. Thinking himself now authorized to throw off his incognito, he dressed himself richly, desired the prayers at church to be discontinued, and a thanksgiving to be offered in its place, for a traveller on his safe return to his native city, after having successfully concluded his business. He hid himself in a corner of the church, where he might, unobserved, see his beloved Mela; his eyes were fixed on her, and he now felt that ecstacy, the hope of which had prevented him, a few days ago, from desperately ending his life in the waves. When the thanksgiving was pronounced, her cheeks glowed with joy, and she could scarcely conceal her raptures, their meeting afterwards in the church was so expressive, that nobody who had seen it could have misinterpreted it.
この時からフランクは装いを変えて再登場し、商売を始めた。数週間で取引を大幅に拡大し、その豊かさが日に日に明らかになるにつれ、嫉妬深い同胞たちは、古いことわざにしたがって、「古い借金の取り立てで金持ちになるとは、才覚よりも運がよかったのだろう」などと言い囃したほど。
広場にあるローランド像の向かいに大きな家を構え、事務員や召使いを雇い、真面目に仕事に打ち込んでいた。寄生虫やカエル喰いその他ろくでもない連中は、再び彼の元に群がり、お零れに与ろうとした。しかし、経験によって賢くなった彼は、丁重な挨拶に対して丁寧な言葉を返すのみ、餌を投げて遣りはしなかった。これが虫除けの特効薬とわかってからは、煩わしい連中から一挙に解放された。
From this time forward, Frank again appeared at change, and entered into business. He extended his transactions greatly in a few weeks, and, as his opulence became every day more apparent, his envious fellow-citizens observed, according to the old proverb, that he must have had more luck than sense to get rich in collecting old debts. He took a large house opposite the statue of Sir Roland, in the principal square; engaged clerks and servants, and applied himself with great earnest ness to his business. Those miserable races of parasites and toad-eaters, again flocked to his door, and hoped once more to be the partakers of his wealth. But, grown wise by experience, he returned only polite speeches for politeness, and allowed them to depart with an empty stomach, which he found to be a sovereign remedy, and it freed him at once from all farther trouble from them.
フランクはブレーメンで一躍、時の人となった。彼が外国で築いた、説明のつかないような幸運は、みんなの注目を集め、宴会や葬式や裁判所その他で話題となった。しかし、彼の富と繁栄が増大し、一般的な話題となるにつれ、メラの幸福と心の平穏は減少していった。沈黙の友は、今こそ名乗りを上げるべき時だと彼女は思った。しかし、彼は時々通りで彼女に会う以外は沈黙を守り、その頻度も下がっていった。そのような振る舞いは、恋が冷めてしまった人のようではないか。嫉妬が不愉快な疑惑を、ハーピーのように耳元にささやき続けた。
「こんなフラフラした男を繋ぎ止めようなどという甘い望みは捨てなさい。たやすく向きを変えること、まるで風見鶏ではないか。確かに、彼はあなたを愛し、彼とあなたの条件が同じである限り、忠実であった。しかし今、彼の境遇の幸福な変化が、放浪の若者をあなたよりはるかに高く引き上げ、今彼は、あなたの貧しさのために、純粋な愛情を軽んじています。豪華絢爛、富と華やかさに囲まれ、崇拝しているつんと澄ました美女は誰が知ろう、彼が塵に埋もれた時には見捨てたのに、今やセイレーンの声で呼び戻しているとは。おそらく、賞賛の声に押されて、彼の心はあなたから離れてしまったのでしょう。彼の新しい友人は告げるのでしょう、生まれ故郷で最高の金持ち達も選り取り見取り、父親多数が娘を与える積もりで、これを拒む乙女など居ないと。皆して彼に教えるでしょう、権力と貫禄を求めよと、名家とのコネを作れと、その一方で憐れなメラを引き取るべく。」
In Bremen, Frank became the talk of the day; the fortune he had made abroad, in such an unaccountable manner, occupied the attention of everybody, and formed the subject of conversation at feasts and funerals, in courts of law and on change. But, in proportion as his wealth and prosperity increased, and became the subject of general conversation, so Mela's happiness and peace of mind diminished. Her silent friend, she thought, was now in a condition to declare himself; but he remained silent, except now and then meeting her in the street; and even this kind of attention became less frequent; such behaviour betokened a cold lover; and the Harpy jealousy continually whispered unpleasant suspicions in her ear:
"Banish the sweet hope of fixing such an inconstant swain; like a weathercock, he is blown about by the slightest breeze. It is true, he loved thee and was faithful as long as his condition and thine were equal. But now a happy change in his circumstances, raises the wandering youth far above thee; and now he despises the purest affection, on account of thy poverty. Surrounded by splendour, wealth and pomp, who knows but he adores some prouder beauty, who abandoned him, when humbled in the dust, and now, with the voice of a syren, calls him back. Perhaps, the tones of adulation have turned his heart from thee. His new friends will tell him that he may choose among the richest and the best in his native city; that many fathers will be ready to give him their daughters, and that no maiden will reject him; they will teach him to look for power and importance, and to connect himself with some weighty family; and to for get poor Mela."
嫉妬に駆られたこのような思いが、絶え間なく彼女を苦しめた。口を利かない恋人の境遇が変わったという知らせに、最初は大喜びしたのに。自分のためにこれほど大きな財産を分け合いたいと思ったのではなく、金持ちの酒造家を断って以来、世俗の幸福をすべて諦めていた母を喜ばせるために。
それが今や、いつも熱心に参加していた祈りが届かなかったら、旅の商売がうまくいかなかったら、などと考えてしまうメラであった。そうすれば、彼はきっと誠実でいられただろうから。
Such thoughts, inspired by jealousy, disturbed and tormented her incessantly. The first news of the change in her silent lover's circumstances had filled her with delight; not that she wished on her own account to share so large a fortune; but to gratify her mother, who had given up every idea of worldly happiness, since she refused the rich brewer. Now Mela wished that the prayers for his success, in which she had always so fervently joined, had not been heard, that the business of the traveller had not succeeded so well, for then he would probably have remained faithful.
母ブリギッタは娘の憂鬱にすぐに気づいたが、その原因を突き止めるのにそれほど鋭さは必要なかった。メラが彼に好意を抱いていることも知っていたし、彼が今や成功した活発な商人であり、秩序ある模範的な人物であることから、もし彼が娘のことを真剣に思っているのなら、誓言を遅らせる理由はもうないだろうと考えたのである。メラは沈黙したままの悲しみに耐えることができず、母に打ち明けるようになった。告白された内容は、慎重な女主人が既に知っていたことばかりだったけれど、この件に関して、自分の意見を言う機会にはなった。ただ、娘を非難しないように気をつけたというか、謙虚な子供を励まし、慰め、失われた希望に勇気と堅忍をもって耐えられるよう、あらゆる手段を尽くした。
Mother Brigitta was soon aware of her daughter's melancholy, and it did not require much acuteness to discover the cause. The report of the improvement in the condition of her late lint merchant, had reached her as well as her daughter; she knew of Mela's inclination towards him, and as he was now a successful, active merchant, and a very model in point of order, she thought there was no longer any reason why he should delay his declaration, if he had any serious design on her daughter's hand. To spare her, however, she never mentioned any thing concerning him; but Mela was, at length, unable to bear her grief in silence and, therefore, made her mother her confidant. The prudent matron learnt, by this confession, little more than she already knew; still it gave her an opportunity of telling her opinion on the subject. She took care not to make any reproaches to her daughter, thinking it was wisest to make the best of what could not be altered. On the contrary, she employed every possible means to raise and console her humbled child, and to enable her to bear her blighted hopes with courage and firmness.
「我が愛する子よ、」彼女は穏やかに言った。
「あなたが醸したように、あなたは飲まなければならない。あなたは幸運が提供されたときにそれを拒否し、今、あなたはそれを失うために出さなければならない。私の経験からは、最も確実とみなす希望が、しばしば欺瞞的であることを教えられました。私の例に倣い、その声にもはや耳を貸さず、絶え間ない失望があなたの平和を壊すことのないように。
運命に好ましい変化を期待しなければ、満足はするでしょう。紡ぎ車に敬意を払いましょう、富や位を気にしないようにしましょう。」
"My dear child,"said she mildly,"as you have brewed so you must drink, you rejected fortune when it was offered, and you must now submit to lose it. Experience has taught me that the hope we regard as most certain is often delusive; follow my example, give no longer ear to its voice, that continual disappointment may not destroy thy peace. Do not expect a favourable change in thy fate, and thou wilt be contented. Let us honour the spinning wheel, which procures us the means of subsistence, and care not for riches and greatness, since we can do without them."
この哲学的な見解は、立派な寮母の心からのものであった。最後の望みが絶たれた後、彼女は自分の人生設計を完全に単純化していたので、運命がそれを狂わせることはほとんど不可能であった。しかし、メラはまだこの哲学的な冷静さからは程遠く、母の助言は彼女の意図とは全く異なる効果をもたらした。良心に傷ついた乙女は、母親の甘い望みを打ち砕いたのは自分だと思い、最も辛辣に自らを責めた。結婚というテーマについて母親と意見が一致したことはなく、愛で味付けされたパンと塩があれば幸せには十分だと思っていた。しかし、恋人の富と商売を聞いて以来、彼女はより豪華な家庭の準備にふけり、自分の心や嗜好を犠牲にすることなく母親の昔の夢を実現し、彼女を豊かな生活に戻すことができるのではないかと、しばしば喜んだものだった。
These philosophical observations came from the heart of the worthy matron. After the failure of her last hopes, she had so completely simplified her plan of life, that it was scarcely possible for fate to derange it. But Mela was still very far from this philosophical composure, and her mother's advice had therefore a very different effect from what she intended. The conscience stricken maiden looked upon herself as the destroyer of a mother's sweetest hope, and reproached herself most bitterly. Though she had never agreed with her mother on the subject of marriage, and had thought bread and salt when seasoned by love, would be sufficient for happiness: yet, since she had heard of the wealth and trade of her sweet heart, she had indulged in more luxurious domestic arrangements, and was often delighted to think she might still be enabled to realize her mother's former dreams, and restore her to opulence without sacrificing her own heart and inclinations.
しかし、この魅力的な妄想は、時間が経つにつれて次第に消え去り、フランクは彼らに近づかなくなった。また、フランクはアントワープから来た金持ちの娘を花嫁として迎えるために、可能な限りの速さで家の準備をしているという噂まで流れた。
This charming delusion vanished however by degrees, as time flowed on, and Frank came not near them. A report also was spread, that he was preparing his house with all possible despatch for the reception of his bride, a rich lady from Antwerp, who was already on the road.
Croesus: リュディア最後の王クロイソスは大金持ちとして名高く、その名はギリシャ語とペルシア語で「富める者」と同義語になり、英語でも慣用句となった。
toad-eaters:「おべっか使い」をいう。昔、（有毒とされた）ヒキガエルを助手に食わせた（ように見せた）香具師の故事から
the statue of Sir Roland: 中世文学『ローランの歌』に登場する英雄ローラントを象ったローラント像（Bremen Roland）がブレーメンのマルクト広場に立つ
