7
彼は春分の日を心待ちにしていたが、それまでは時間が計り知れないほど長く感じられた。
その前日の夜は、ろくに眠ることもできなかった。まだ見ぬ友を逃さないために、日の出前に橋の上に陣取ったものの、自分以外の人間はまだ見当たらない。
将来の幸運への期待に満ちていた彼は、お金をどのように使うか、沢山の計画を立てた。
He waited with the utmost impatience for the equinox; till which, time seemed immeasurably long. The night preceding the eventful day, he could not close his eyes to sleep; and that he might be sure of not missing the friend with whom as yet he was unacquainted, he took his station ere sun-rise on the bridge, where no human being but himself was to be discovered. Replete with hopes of future good fortune, he formed a thousand projects in what way to spend his money.
1時間近くは、一人で橋に居り、想像を膨らませていたところ。突然、橋が感動的な情景を見せた。中でも人目を引くのは、乞食が大勢、橋に陣取って、通りすがりに施しを求めていたのである。フランシスに最初に施しを求めたのは、木の義足を持つ憐れな悪魔だった。人相見を能くする彼は、若者の楽しげで満足そうな様子から、要求は成功すると判断した。推測は間違っておらず、半フローリン貨が帽子に投げ入れられた。
Already had he, during the space of nearly an hour, traversed the bridge alone, giving full scope to his imagination; when on a sudden the bridge presented a moving scene, and amongst others, many beggars took their several stations on it, to levy contributions on the passengers. The first of this tribe who asked charity of Francis was a poor devil with a wooden leg, who, being a pretty good physiognomist, judged from the gay and contented air of the young man that his request would be crowned with success; and his conjecture was not erroneous, for he threw a demi-florin into his hat.
一方、フランシスは、期待していた友人が社交界の上流階級に属しているに違いないと確信していたので、こんな早い時間に会えなくても驚かず、辛抱強く待っていた。
しかし、取引所や裁判所へ行く時間が近づくにつれ、彼の目は落ち着かなくなった。橋の上からやってくる身なりの良い人たちを遠くから発見し、それぞれが自分に近づいてくるたびに血の気が引いていった。しかし、人々の顔を見てみると、誰も彼に注意を払ってはいなかった。
正午に地べたに座って食事を摂っていた乞食たちは、朝一から見ていた若者が橋の上で一緒に残っている唯一の人間であり、彼は誰とも話さず、何の仕事も持っていないように見えたので、彼を怠惰な浮浪者だと思った。そして、彼の恩義を受けたにもかかわらず、彼をからかうようになり、嘲笑して彼を橋の砦と呼んだ。
木の義足を持つ人相見は、彼の空気がもはや朝ほど陽気ではなく、帽子を顔にかぶった彼は完全に物思いに耽っているように見え、抽象的な雰囲気でリンゴをかじりながらゆっくりと歩いていると気づいた。
観察者は、自分が言ったことで利益を得ようと決心し、橋のさらに端まで行き、幻視者をよく観察した後、他人として彼に近づき、彼の慈善を求め、彼の最大限の願いを成功させました。
フランシスは振り向くことなく、もう一枚の半フローリン貨を与えたからである。
Francis, meanwhile, feeling persuaded that the friend he expected must belong to the highest class of society, was not surprised at not seeing him at so early an hour, and waited therefore with patience. But as the hour for visiting the Exchange and the Courts of Justice drew near, his eyes were in constant motion. He discovered at an immense distance every well-dressed person who came on the bridge, and his blood was in a perfect ferment as each approached him, for in some one of them did he hope to discover the author of his good fortune; but it was in vain his looking the people in the face, no one paid attention to him. The beggars, who at noon were seated on the ground eating their dinner, remarking that the young man they had seen from the first of the morning was the only person remaining with them on the bridge, and that he had not spoken to any one, or appeared to have any employment, took him for a lazy vagabond; and although they had received marks of his beneficence, they began to make game of him, and in derision called him the provost of the bridge. The physiognomist with the wooden leg remarked that his air was no longer so gay as in the morning, and that having drawn his hat over his face he appeared entirely lost in thought, for he walked slowly along, nibbling an apple with an abstracted air. The observer, resolving to benefit by what he had remarked, went to the further extremity of the bridge, and after well examining the visionary, came up to him as a stranger, asked his charity, and succeeded to his utmost wish; for Francis, without turning round his head, gave him another demi-florin.
午後になると、新しい顔ぶれが次々と現れ、フランシスはすっかり待ちくたびれてしまったが、それでも希望は持ち続けた。
しかし、急速に傾く太陽は夜の訪れを告げていたが、多くの通行人の中でフランシスに気づいた者はほとんどいなかった。何人かは挨拶を返したかもしれないが、彼が期待し望んでいたように、彼を抱きしめる人は一人もいなかった。
やがて日が暮れて、橋の上はほとんど無人となり、乞食さえもいなくなった。このように自分の希望が欺かれていることを知ったフランシスの心は、深い憂鬱に襲われた。
絶望に打ちひしがれ、メタのことが思い出されなければヴェーザー川に身を投げるところだった。このような悲劇的な形で人生を終える前に、もう一度、ミサに行く彼女に会って、その姿を目に焼き付けたいと思ったのだ。
In the afternoon a crowd of new faces presented themselves to Francis’s observation, while he became quite weary at his friend’s tardiness; but hope still kept up his attention. However, the fast declining sun gave notice of the approach of night, and yet scarcely any of the many passers-by had noticed Francis. Some few, perhaps, had returned his salutation, but not one had, as he expected and hoped, embraced him. At length, the day so visibly declined that the bridge became nearly deserted; for even the beggars went away. A profound melancholy seized the heart of poor Francis, when he found his hopes thus deceived; and giving way to despair, he would have precipitated himself into the Weser, had not the recollection of Meta deterred him. He felt anxious, ere he terminated his days in so tragical a manner, to see her once again as she went to mass, and feast on the contemplation of her features.
橋を下りようとしたとき、木の脚の乞食が彼に声をかけた。彼は、この若者が朝から晩まで橋の上に留まっているのはなぜだろうと、謎解きに頭を悩ませていたのだ。
この貧しい廃人は、いつになったらフランシスが帰るのか見てみようと、いつもより長く待っていた。しかし、彼が思った以上に長く留まったので、好奇心に駆られて遂には、知りたい事について率直に話しかけるに至ったのだった。
He was preparing to quit the bridge, when the beggar with the wooden leg accosted him, for he had in vain puzzled his brains to discover what could possibly have caused the young man to remain on the bridge from morning till night. The poor cripple had waited longer than usual on account of Francis, in order to see when he went; but as he remained longer than he wished, curiosity at length induced him openly to address him, in order to learn what he so ardently desired to know.
「失礼ですが旦那、お尋ねしてよろしいか 」と言った
“Pray excuse me, worthy sir,” said he; “and permit me to ask you a question.”
友人から聞かされるのを心待ちにしていた言葉を、乞食の口から聞くことになったフランシスは、怒ったような口調で答えた。「それじゃ、何を知りたいんだい、おじいさん」。
Francis, who was by no means in a mood to talk, and who now heard from the mouth of a beggar the words which he had so anxiously expected from a friend, answered him in rather an angry tone: “Well then! what is it you want to know, old man?”
「今日、この橋に最初に来たのはあっしと旦那。あっしや仲間は、ただ施しを求めに来ただけなのは見ての通り。しかし、旦那が我々とは違うことも見ての通り。
もし秘密でないなら、お願いだから教えてくれ、何のためにお出でなすった、引き裂かれるような悲しみは何事。」
“Sir, you and I were the two first persons on this bridge to-day; and here we are still the only remaining two. As for me and my companions, it is pretty clear that we only come to ask alms: but it is equally evident you do not belong to our profession; and yet you have not quitted the bridge the whole day. My dear sir, for the love of God, if it is no secret, tell me I entreat you for what purpose you came, and what is the grief that rends your heart?”
「君には何も関係ないだろう、老いぼれめ。人の靴のどこが痛いのか、どんな苦悩があるのか知ったところでどうするんだ」
“What can it concern you, old dotard, to know where the shoe pinches me, or what afflictions I am labouring under?”
「旦那、ご健勝を。二度も私に施しをなされましたから、神様もその施しを喜んでお返しくださることでしょう。
しかし晩のお顔は、朝と違って楽しそうでなかったので、何か見てて居た堪れないというか」
“My good sir, I wish you well; you have twice bestowed your charity on me, which I hope the Almighty will return to you with interest. I could not but observe, however, that this evening your countenance no longer looked gay and happy as in the morning; and, believe me, I was sorry to see the change.”
この老人の無表情な興味はフランシスを喜ばせた。
「では、私が一日中ここで悩んでいる理由をお知りになりたいのでしたら、その理由をお教えしましょう。
この橋で会う約束をしていた友人を探しに来たのですが、期待はずれでした」と答えた。
The unaffected interest evinced by the old man pleased Francis. “Well,” replied he, “since you attach so much importance to the knowledge of the reason I have for remaining the whole day here plaguing myself, I will inform you that I came in search of a friend who appointed to meet me on this bridge, but whom I have expected in vain.”
「お許しあれば、そのご友人は酷い方だと申し上げたいところですな、こんな愚かな真似をなさるとは。あっしなら会うたびに、杖の重さを教えてくれるところです。
不測の事態で約束を守れないなら、せめてあなたに連絡を。一日中足止めを食らわせないように。」
“With your permission I should say your friend is a rogue, to play the fool with you in this manner. If he had so served me, I should make him feel the weight of my crutch whenever I met him: for if he has been prevented from keeping his word by any unforeseen obstacle, he ought at least to have sent to you, and not have kept you here on your feet a whole day.”
「来なかったことに文句を言う筋合いはない、何も約束しなかったのだから。
夢で聞いただけです、ここで友人に会うと言われて」
“And yet I have no reason to complain of his not coming, for he promised me nothing. In fact, it was only in a dream that I was told I should meet a friend here.”
かの幽霊の話を最初から物語るには、あまりにも長いので、フランシスは、夢として語った訳であったが。
Francis spoke of it as a dream, because the history of the ghost was too long to relate.
「それなら話は別、つうか」と老人は答えた。「夢に望みを託している以上、夢に誑かされても不思議はないってもので。あっしにしてもだ、普段の生活に多くの夢を見たものでござんすよ。ただまあ、あっしはそんなん真に受ける気にはなれなかったんでさあ。夢の中で約束された宝物を全て持っていたなら、ブレーメンの街全体だって購入できるんだとか。阿呆らしい、あっしは夢なんか信じやしませんから。一歩も踏み出していない以上、本当だったか嘘だったか知ったこっちゃありませんがね。
だから旦那が、こんな良い一日を棒に振るなんてどうかしてるとしか思えませんで。あっしか見たナンセンス意味不明な夢とは強さが違うって事ですかねえ？ 」
“That alters the case,” replied the old man. “Since you rest your hopes on dreams, I am not astonished at your being deceived. I have also had many dreams in my life; but I was never fool enough to pay attention to them. If I had all the treasures that have been promised me in dreams, I could purchase the whole city of Bremen: but I have never put faith in dreams, and have not taken a single step to prove whether they were true or false; for I know full well, it would be useless trouble: and I am astonished that you should have lost so fine a day, which you might have employed so much more usefully, merely on the strength of a dream which appears to me so wholly devoid of sense or meaning.”
「親父さん、あんたが言う通りかも知れない。夢は概して人を欺くものだ。しかし、3ヶ月以上前のことにはなるが、僕はこの日、この橋の上で友人と会うという非常に具体的な夢を見たのだ。そして、その夢は明確に、非常に重要なことを彼が伝えてくることを示していた。その夢が本物か、確かめる価値はあると思ったのだ。」
“The event proves the justness of your remark, old father; and that dreams generally are deceitful. But it is rather more than three months since I had a very circumstantial dream relative to my meeting a friend on this particular day, here on this bridge; and it was so clearly indicated that he should communicate things of the utmost importance, that I thought it worth while to ascertain whether this dream had any foundation in truth.”
「あっしほど鮮明な夢を見る奴あ、そう居るまいて。そのうちの1つは特に、忘れられずに居るんですがね。数年前、善良なる天使様が若者の姿で枕元に立ち、話しかける夢を見たもんです。
『ベルトルド、私の言葉を注意深く聞いて、これから言うことを何一つ聞き逃さないように。
あなたに宝物が与えられた。その宝を手に入れれば、残りの日々を幸せに暮らせるようになる。
明日の夕方、日が暮れたら
斧と鋤を肩に担いで、ハンブルグに通じる門から街の外に出なさい。聖ニコラウス修道院の前に着くと、庭の入り口には二本の柱が立っている。月が昇るまで、そのうちの一本の柱に身を隠せ。
扉を強く押せば、その努力は報われる。恐れず庭に入り、つる草に覆われた道を進むと、左側に大きなりんごの木が見える。
この木の下に身を置き、顔を月に向けよ。そして、15フィート離れたところに、2本のふさふさしたバラの木があるのが見えるだろう。この2本の低木の間を探すと、約6フィートの深さに大きな旗石を発見することができる。それが鉄の箱に入っている宝物を覆っている。
重くて扱いにくいが、穴から動かす労苦を惜しんではならない。箱の下に隠された鍵を見つければ、その労苦は十分に報われるだろう』とね。」
“Ah! sir, no one has had clearer dreams than myself; and one of them I shall never forget. I dreamt, several years since, that my good angel stood at the foot of my bed, in the form of a young man, and addressed me as follows:—‘Berthold, listen attentively to my words, and do not lose any part of what I am about to say. A treasure is allotted you; go and secure it, that you may be enabled to live happily the rest of your days. To-morrow evening, when the sun is setting, take a pick-axe and spade over your shoulder, and go out of the city by the gate leading to Hamburgh: when you arrive facing the convent of Saint Nicholas, you will see a garden, the entrance to which is ornamented by two pillars; conceal yourself behind one of these until the moon rises: then push the door hard, and it will yield to your efforts; go without fear into the garden, follow a walk covered by a treillage of vines, and to the left you will see a great apple-tree: place yourself at the foot of this tree, with your face turned towards the moon, and you will perceive, at fifteen feet distance, two bushy rose-trees: search between these two shrubs, and at the depth of about six feet you will discover a great flag-stone, which covers the treasure inclosed within an iron chest; and although it is heavy and difficult to handle, do not regret the labour it will occasion you to move it from the hole where it now is. You will be well rewarded for your pains and trouble, if you look for the key which is hid under the box.’”
フランシスはこの話を聞いて、呆然としたままであった。もし夜の帷が降りてくれなかったなら、彼は驚きを隠せなかったことだろう。
この乞食が指摘したさまざまな事柄から、彼は父親から受け継いだ小さな庭を思い出した。その庭は、善良な男のお気に入りの場所だったが、却ってそのために息子には評価されていなかった。メルキオールが自分の好みに合わせて造成した庭を、浪費に明け暮れた息子は二束三文に売り払ったのだ。
Francis remained like one stupified at this recital; and certainly would have been unable to conceal his astonishment, if the darkness of the night had not favoured him. The various particulars pointed out by the beggar brought to his recollection a little garden which he had inherited from his father, and which garden was the favourite spot of that good man; but possibly for that very reason it was not held in estimation by the son. Melchior had caused it to be laid out according to his own taste, and his son in the height of his extravagance had sold it at a very low price.
木の義足を持つこの乞食は、フランシスにとって非常に興味深い人物となった。彼こそは、ルンメルスブルク城の幽霊が言っていた友人に違いない。
喜びのあまり、托鉢僧を抱きしめてしまいそうになったが、彼は自分の知見を彼に伝えない方がよいと考え、気持ちを抑えた。
The beggar with his wooden leg was now become a very interesting personage to Francis, who perceived that he was the friend alluded to by the ghost in the castle of Rummelsbourg. The first impulse of joy would have led him to embrace the mendicant; but he restrained his feelings, thinking it best not to communicate the result of his intelligence to him.
「ふうむ… さて、それでは」 彼は聞いた。
「目覚めた時、どうしましたか？天使の助言に従わなかったのですか？」
“Well, my good man,” said he, “what did you when you awoke? did you not attend to the advice given by your good angel?”
「あっしが？どうしてまた、訳の分からない労働を引き受けにゃならんと？ぼんやりとした夢に過ぎないのに。もし天使があっしに会いたいのなら、こっちが眠れずに居る夜を選んでも良いでしょう、よくあることだし。
でも、あっしのことなんざ気を揉むことにはならんのでしょう。もしそうなら、天使の恥辱になるような、日々のパンを乞う今の生活に落ちるはずもあるめえし。」
“Why should I undertake a hopeless labour? It was only a vague dream; and if my good angel was anxious to appear to me, he might choose a night when I am not sleeping, which occurs but too frequently: but he has not troubled his head much about me; for if he had, I should not have been reduced, as I now am, to his shame, to beg my bread.”
フランシスはポケットからもう一枚の金を取り出して老人に渡し、言った。
「これを持ってワインを半パイント買い、お休みになる前にお飲みください。あなたの会話は、私の悲しい思いを払拭してくれました。
この橋に定期的に来てください、そこでまたお会いしましょう」
Francis took from his pocket another piece of money, and gave it to the old man, saying: “Take this to procure half a pint of wine, and drink it ere you retire to rest. Your conversation has dispelled my sorrowful thoughts; do not fail to come regularly to this bridge, where I hope we shall meet again.”
足の不自由な老人は、長い間、これほど良い一日に恵まれたことがなかったので、フランシスを感謝の念で押し倒してしまわんばかりだった。
二人は別れて、それぞれ自分の道を歩んだ。フランシスは、自分の希望が実現しそうな予感に喜びが最高潮に達し、あっという間に脇道の宿にたどり着いた。
The old lame man, not having for a long while made so good a day’s work, overwhelmed Francis with his grateful benedictions. They separated, and each went their way. Francis, whose joy was at its height from the near prospect of his hopes being realised, very speedily reached his lodging in the bye street.
demi-florin: フローリン銀貨（=ギルダ）の半分
